Princess of Persia
by Kaena Blaise
Summary: Another object of time? It's even stronger than the dagger? Without it, the gods will destroy the world!...Great now what?...OCxOC Warning: story is better than summary, I hope. *CH. 20 UP!*
1. Chapter 1: Intruders

_Hello to all who have come searching for a story other than my Inuyasha fanfict: Tears Left Uncried. Yes this is only my second and it will be my only other one until I finish both of them. I figured I'd go ahead and start another on the side since I'm still trying to finish watching Inuyasha the TV show._

_Anyhoo, this fanfict: Princess of Persia is based about a year after the actual movie Prince of Persia and still has the original characters, except for the fact that I have now inserted mine into the equation as well...heh heh heh...whoops!_

_Moving on, the story is based on Daria's point of veiw, but I figured that Kas deserves some time in the storyline too, so the story will sometimes switch over to him...even though it's not in first person. Sadly, this story is still in the building process, so any ideas from my readers are encouraged and appreciated!_

_Please read, enjoy, and review!_

_-KB_

_

* * *

_*Chapter 1*

"Dastan and Tamina? Really?" The thought of them actually married is beyond me! My right hand girl, Sama nods her head.

"Yeah, I just got the letter today. They want you to visit."

Me? Go to Alamut? Yeah, right.

"Daria?" Sama asks when I don't answer.

"I'll think about it." I smile quickly.

"Oh, boy. Translation: you aren't going." The dark skinned girl shakes her head.

"What?" I shrug, flinging my arms out. So I didn't want to go, big deal. Alamut is really too big of a place for me. I don't like crowded places...unless there's something in it for me. I know that Tamina would have my head if I was caught treasure hunting in her city. I rub my neck involuntarily. She would enjoy it too.

Sama stretches and leaves the tent once more. She could take care of herself, that much is certain. She's not like the little helpless girl I found in the desert two years ago. She hails from the Ngbaka clan, a deadly clan of professional blade-throwers with incredible aim. I had rescued her and now she refuses to leave my side, not that I mind. She's a really good friend.

I fall back onto my pillows, freshly stolen from a government official in the last city we passed through, with an annoyed grunt. I hate it when Sama gets all mature on me and gives me the silent treatment. It makes me feel guilty and-

"Alright, fine, we'll go." I call.

Two seconds later, she sticks her head through the tent door and gives me and wide grin. "I knew you'd say that."

"Shut up and start packing. We leave as soon as possible." I growl in defeat.

* * *

"Kas, are you sure this is a good idea? It's Alamut, the sacred city. If we cause any scenes, the Queen will have our head!" The big muscular young man hisses as the three of them glance down into the busy street below.

"Relax, Arsalan. We're not going to make any type of distractions until tomorrow night. Firuz, go and walk the streets while we find somewhere to sleep tonight. Try not to be seen." Kas, a boy with sandy brown hair whispers, his bangs falling over into his dark green eyes.

The smaller boy on his left disappears from his side and Kas leaves too with Arsalan close behind him. They scale the tops of the buildings, glancing down occasionally here and there into a few alley ways to see if they can find a good place to sleep without being seen. The sun is already setting above the city, bringing on the darkness of the night. Kas takes a quick look up into the sky. Night had always been his best friend. That was when he felt like he could really show his true colors.

"Come my friend. Here." Arsalan's voice breaks into his thoughts and he follows the brawny man down a flight of stairs and into an abandoned house. The walls are falling here and there and a few horses neigh at their intrusion, but other than that it was fine. The hay on the floor would give them a bed and the roof would shelter them from the elements outside.

"This will do. Find Firuz and tell him where we are." Kas tells him and the muscle man disappears too back up the stair way they had come down. He's finally alone.

* * *

"Daria! Look!" Sama calls excitedly. She had always loved visiting Alamut to see Dastan and Tamina. They had come to visit them when they had announced that a marriage between their two kingdoms had been made, but I never figured that they would actually go through with it.

Before us, from our distant perch on a mountain ledge, I can see a long line of many people entering the city. I can hear celebration music playing from way out here. It's sickening really. Why do people throw such elaborate parties? Wouldn't a few plates of food, some close friends, and a small group of musicians be enough? It's tiresome.

"Okay, Sama, let's get this over with. I want to get to the next city before I'm too old, so let's not waste too much time here."

"You're such a workaholic. Let's take a vacation! We haven't had one in months. We have enough money to take a week off, right?" Sama nudges me from her horse.

"No, we don't and don't mention our money budget right now. It makes me anxious." It's true. I'm a Hiten, born and raised, from the Heratsy Clan, a community of people who are hired to do anything by those who can meet our price, who live deep in the Persian desert. We can be hired to do nearly anything, assassins, thieves, scouts, or body guards, but very few of us take off on our own and follow our own wills instead of those who pay us. I'm one of them. We pride ourselves on our quick thinking, our silence, and our quick reflexes. It's rare that we're ever caught, but if we are, we know how to use a weapon. Children of our clan are taught to use a wide range of weapons just in case we happen to...misplace our own.

I've never done it, but hey it could happen one day, knowing my luck. On my person right now, I have a twin dual blades, one across my back while the other hangs at my waist, a curved dagger around my ankle, and a sharp chain whip curled up and tied to my hip. This all looks a little suspicious to the eyes of city people, so I have a long brown cape flowing around my shoulders and down around my ankle to cover them up. Sadly, there's not many of us left, that's why we're wonderers, we don't like staying in one place very long because we fear for our lives. Yeah, call us paranoid, but it's better than being right and being killed.

Sama on the other hand is good at concealing her weapons. All her daggers, though all are different in either shape or form, are hidden expertly out of sight on her person at all times. She wears a snug bright orange strapless shirt over her bare chest, a brown wrap belt circles her tiny waist over her loose, wind-blown, red pants, and her belly and arms are bare except for the red and gold arm bands that cover her forearms. A gold stud shines in her nose and in both of her ears and her braids fall around her face loosely, the tan and red beads clicking together whenever she moves her head.

I on the other hand am not so trusting. I like to show off my weapons, when I'm traveling the desert, it keeps followers who wish to attack us at bay. Also, since everything we own is in the saddle bags on our horses, also stolen, I can't very well fit them into bags or let them hang beside me on the horse's saddle. If someone attacked me, I wouldn't be able to have a weapon in hand ready to protect myself.

As far as clothes go, I chose a simple top, an off white and gold one, that ties around my back, the ties crisscrossing over my spine in intricate patterns, and then one more around the back of my neck. The light brown pants, hardly a different shade from my top, wrap snuggly around my waist and then hang loosely around my legs. I prefer to remain sandaled or barefoot, but sometimes in the mountains, you just have to wear boots. I have my long dark brown, almost black, curly hair pulled back into a bun on the back of my head, but a few curly pieces hang loose here and there. I hate having my hair in my way, but I can honestly say that I don't regret inheriting my mother's locks. I love them, but it's more of a love/hate relationship, you know.

"Hello? Earth to Daria?" Sama calls to me. Apparently I was zoning out again.

"I'm fine!" I tell her. She shakes her head again, beads clicking together, and rolls her eyes.

"Sure you are. I'm just waiting for the day when you fall off your horse. I'm not going to wake you up anymore." She chuckles.

"You better, or you'll not be getting the cut from our next bash." I grin at her.

We stop our horses, staring out at the long line of guests that just doesn't seem to end. Sama glances at me and I glance back.

"Walls here we come." We laugh at the same time.

* * *

Kas drops onto yet another roof, but he can never seem to get close enough to the castle without being seen by the guards. Whoever this soon-to-be Queen was, she sure knew how to keep party crashers away. If he couldn't find some way in soon then he wouldn't get the chance to. More and more people from all over are pouring into the city for some massive wedding. He heard it was supposed to be an arranged wedding, he hated those. How could two people agree with something like that? They couldn't truly love each other could they? It's just wrong in his eyes.

Below him, spying from his hiding place, he glances down into the street. Two big guards stand in the street, glancing up and down the road, looking for trouble. At one point, one looks up and he ducks down quickly, thinking he's caught for sure, but no one shouts out at him in a threatening manner, so he sneaks a quick peek back over the edge of the roof again. One of the guards is gone.

'Eh?' He thinks. 'Isn't that interesting. Leaving his post during his shift.'

As if right on cue, the guard come running back. "They just spotted two intruders climbing over the wall by the eastern gate!" He gasps.

The other guard takes off in the other direction, obviously going to spread the word to the other guards.

"More party crashers huh?" Kas whispers to himself. "Looks like I'll have to hurry if I want the prize first."

* * *

"Come on already! Drop!" I snap quietly. Sama finally lets go of the ledge and lands heavily next to me. We both duck behind a few flower pots quickly as two guards come running by.

"We really need to work on your landings." I whisper.

"Why are we hiding anyway? Didn't we get an invitation?" Sama asks, ignoring my previous statement.

"Yes, but you know I love to make a grand entrance. Come on!" We take off towards the nearby roof and leap across, now that darkness had fallen, it would be easier to move around. I slip silently from roof to roof, wincing when Sama came to a load thump behind me every time we jump. Maybe I should have told her to take the streets and look for a way in that way, but it would have made things complicated. I already know the way in. The last time I had come here, I had befriended Dastan like a brother and he showed me everything about the city. And I do mean everything. All the secret ways into the castle were at my disposal now. Thank you Dastan.

Coming to a halt, I stare up at the castle walls, designed for beauty and protection. They wouldn't be as easy to climb up as the outer walls, but I didn't have to. Right across from me, a few awnings, covering the stands below, line the wall.

'Soft landing here I come.' I think. I take only a single step back before I leap into the air and come to a soft bouncing stop on the blue awning top. Sliding down, I land smoothly on the ground, glancing back up at Sama.

The young woman nods and follows after me into the sleeping streets, getting quieter as the night settles in, and then we head off behind the stand, where a few of the shop owner's lovely rugs hang up against the wall to show off to the customers who come to buy. I go to the middle blue one and pull it back from the wall.

A door is hidden behind it. I smile as I remember the first time Dastan had shown this to me, but quickly go back to my business and push open the door motioning for Sama to follow me.

"Wow, how'd you know about this one?" She smiles.

"Dastan, who else?" I laugh quietly.

Following the dark, torch-lit, hall way, we travel up stairs, around corners, through doorways, into others, and finally to the end of the hallway, where another door blocks our path.

"Ready?" I smile.

"Yeah."

I slam the door wide open! "Honey! I'm home!"

"By the gods!" Tamina gasps and spins around in surprise. She tightens the dark brown wrap around her, staring at us with wide eyes, but when she gets a good look at us she loosens up and releases her grip with a breathless laugh. "Goodness, Daria, you scared me half to death!"

"I know. I try." I shrug.

She lets the wrap hang open loosely, since we're all girls, and comes to hug us both. She wears a strapless top and loose fitting white pants, her night clothes obviously, but I hardly notice as she wraps us in tight embraces. "How have you been, and how did you get here so soon? We weren't expecting you for a few more days." She smiles.

Her dark black hair spills out around her waist as she turns to hug Sama too.

"Well, she wanted to see you guys earlier so we left as soon as we got the message about the big day. We had to travel a lot at night too just to make it here on time. I'm surprised we got here this early too." I sigh, making myself at home and plopping down on the nice comfy pillows around her room.

"What? Goodness, you must be exhausted! I'll have the helpers set you both up a room immediately." She waves to a small girl standing by the door, who's obviously still shaken by the sudden disruption, and she nods once as she heads out to do her task. "Now, tell me how your trip was. Wait, no! First off...how'd you get in here?" She shoots an accusing gaze at me and I can't help, but spill the truth.

"Dastan. He...uh...showed me this way in here. I knew it lead into your room so I figured I'd surprise you." I bite my lower lip, waiting for her to snap at me. One thing about Tamina, she's very easily annoyed with her close friends. It's why her and her soon-to-be husband still argue sometimes.

Her face goes from shock to anger to expressionless in a flash. My eyes widen. Here it comes. Beside me, Sama leans back a little, having a little experience with Tamina's anger. She had to learn the hard way.

"I...see." She stands up stiffly. "If you'll excuse me for just a moment, please, ladies."

Tamina exits the room, the servants closing it behind her and giggling behind their hands.

"What?" Sama asks.

I just shrug. I thought she'd be biting our heads off for being so careless, but...

I turn to the right a ways when one of the servants leans down near me with a plate of fruit. I stick with an orange, probably brought here with thousands of others by one of her guests. Sama takes a peach and an apple to satisfy her ever growing stomach. Personally I don't see how she can eat so much and still contain her figure.

Nearly a second later, Tamina stomps back into the room, dragging a confused Dastan behind her.

"I cannot believe you know a way into my room! On top of that, you told them about it! I don't mind them knowing, but what is someone had seen them enter the doorway! Dastan, you are so irresponsible!" She snaps, not letting the poor guy even get a word in.

Sama and I sink lower into our seats on the floor, trying unsuccessfully to escape Tamina's wrath.

"And I told you that I have never come into your room using the secret passage...tonight." Dastan responds weakly.

'Poor choice of words, Dastan!' I think instantly, letting a half grin sneak onto my face.

Tamina smacks him hard against his head with a nearby pillow. He just laughs as he tries to duck away. "I cannot believe this!"

"Tamina, please!" I quickly get up to go to my adopted brother's defense. "If it helps...I actually followed him in here the first time, so he actually had to tell me about it after he found out about me knowing about it. That and..." I glance back at Dastan before quickly finishing my sentence in a blur, "I told him not to use it to sneak into your room, but he didn't listen."

I quickly duck out of the way as she slams the pillow into his head again.

"Traitor!" He laughs.

"You're welcome!" I wave, sitting back down to watch her take it out on him. He's finally able to wrestle her to the floor, giving her a quick kiss as he pulls the pillow out of her hands.

"Dastan! We have guests!"

Sama and I burst into laughter. "We can leave you two alone if you like." My friend chuckles, getting to her feet.

"No! I want to hear about your travels!" Tamina pushes Dastan off of her and leans towards them on her elbows like a little anxious child waiting to hear her bed time story.

I glance at Sama and she laughs.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to head off to bed. Sama can give you the story. She's always been able to go longer without sleep."

"Goodnight!" They all chime together.

One of the small girls by the door lead me to the room they have set up down the hallway and I head in. Two beds, separated by shear gold curtains on either side of a huge window, sit back against the back wall. A small pool of water, only about a foot deep, is built into the floor in the center of the room. Fish of all colors dance around under its blue surface, while pink flower petals float around on top. Candles decorate much of the room, giving it a warm soft glow. The window opens out to a balcony overlooking their own personal view of the city of Alamut.

I bring my bag to the floor beside my bed and go to tie back the curtain on my side of the window first, letting it drape like an upside down rainbow, before doing the same with the other curtain near Sama's bed.

A gentle breeze, nice and cool, brushes against the back of my neck from outside. I turn to see the curtain/door still open and head out to the balcony. It's not as large as Tamina's or Dastan's, but it was big enough to impress me, a desert thief. I lean on the railing, propping myself up on my elbows, and wrap my hands around myself, staring down at the city.

It sleeps soundly now, but by morning, the final guest will be pouring in, returning the city to its loud and bustling state. That ought to be annoying. I sigh and hang my head.

Why the heck did we come again? Oh yeah, the wedding...

* * *

Kas struggles from his grip on the wall, the stone designs not giving him much of anything to hold on to. His feet slip from their ledge and he drags one up to the next hold he can find. Boy, if Arsalan could see him now...

Grunting, he pulls himself up to the window he had been aiming for and lets out a breath of relief. Good, now he can get to work.

A closing door nearby snaps and he quickly tucks himself tight against the wall of the castle, still standing up in the railing of the balcony, letting the shadows cover him.

'Great, now what?' He growls in his thoughts. With this many interruptions, he'll never get anywhere! Footsteps get louder as the threat approaches his hiding place. Whoever it is, he really hopes they decide to stay indoors tonight. He swallows hard.

The steps stop for a second, something drops to the floor, then the move across the room, pausing again.

Who the heck is this guy? Can't he stand still for two seconds?

Suddenly the heavy, red curtain used as a door to the balcony is brushed to the side!

'Crap!' He thinks, closing his eyes tight. It's over now!

The feet pass right by him, stopping not a moment later and the person sighs.

His eyes pop open in surprise. That doesn't sound like a 'he'! Kas spins his eyes back to the balcony and takes in the threat.

It's a young girl, probably not even twenty years old. Her dark hair is pulled back into a bun on her head, a few curls swaying loose around her hidden face, one that he cannot see. Her off white top hugs her front, tying behind her back in numerous strands, the strings hanging down from their knots to brush her waist. The light brown pants she wears hug to her waist line tightly with no belt to secure them; an odd act for a woman, especially. Her bare feet casually cross at the ankles as she turns her head down, as if defeated.

Not bad looking, if only he could see her face. Kas finds himself shifting his eyes down her figure. She's in pretty good shape for a woman, eyeing her arms and the small muscles that form there. Muscles on a woman is really odd, seeing as their job is to take care of house work and stuff, but he's run across his fair share of women fighters. None of them had been that good, mind you, but then again what woman could fight? They aren't meant to, so obviously they can't.

With a smooth movement, Kas tries to quietly touch his foot on the floor of the balcony without alerting her, so that he can make his way through the room and into the rest of the castle. Sadly, though, his bad luck strikes again.

The door to the room shifts open again and he finds himself taking a quick step off the balcony and letting his body drop to the point where he can hold onto the ledge with his hands, allowing his body to hide out of sight. His arms and muscles burn from the sudden impact, but he swallows his grunt of annoyance.

* * *

I can hear Sama enter the room, opening the door, but that's not what has me spinning around on my heel so quickly. I know I felt something; some had been here, near me. I shift my gaze around cautiously, looking for a threat.

"What's up?" Sama calls, coming to a stop in the middle of the room when she sees my expression.

'What was that?' I think. The night is empty and quiet. Nothing stirs.

"Daria?"

"Yeah, sorry, just...thinking. That's all. How was story time?" I leave the balcony, entering our room and pulling the curtain closed behind me. Whoever or whatever it was, it's gone now. Maybe it was just my sleepless state.

"It was good. Tamina and Dastan got into another argument when he asked her if he could stay with her tonight, so I quickly left before the war could officially start." She chuckles as she drops onto her bed.

Not long after, two more helpers enter the room and lay out their sleeping clothes, leaving almost too soon for us to thank them.

"I' don't think I'd ever get used to this rich life." Sama shakes her head as she watches them leave. "Well! Goodnight, Daria."

" 'Night." I sit up for a little while longer before I too slip under me blankets and let sleep take me.

* * *

Kas finally drops onto another ledge and sneaks into the dark, unused room, falling into a rest of relief. That had been too close for his taste.

* * *

_And that's it! Well...for the first chapter at least. I'll try to work on the next one and have it up soon!_

_Please review and enjoy! (And please don't be hateful... :D )_


	2. Chapter 2: The Assassin

_Okay this chapter took a while. I couldn't decide on how to do the wedding scene because I don't know how the weddings are in Persia, so I ended up cutting most of it out. Secondly, I didn't know how I wanted the interrogation to go and whether or not to kill off the assassin, but I resolved to let the poor guy live since I've decided to bring him back into the storyline later on...a whole lot later on, but he still comes back._

_Furthermore, I know it gets confusing switching back and forth between Daria's group and Kas's group, but I promise you that all is going to end soon! :D_

_And...well, that's all I can think of for now._

_Please read, enjoy, and review! ( I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_

* * *

_*Chapter 2*

"Oh! You two look great!" Tamina squeals as we walk in. Her helpers had brought in our clothes for the wedding and right away I had objected. Sama, and her annoying fortune cookie self, had told me to just wear my clothes under it so that Tamina would be happy.

Why did I obey? I couldn't wear my usual pants because they were too bulky so I had to slip on my smaller ones which always had my legs left cold. My top though is still on, thankfully. The dress is long and...frilly, if you will. It holds snuggly to my top and around my waist, where a gold wrap circles around me, and then swirls out around my legs. I refused to wear the flashy sandals, but the helpers didn't seem to mind that so much, so I got my way with that at least. The top of the dress is basically strapless except for the bead strings attached to it that hang loosely over my shoulders.

I glance over at Sama and her girly grin. She's totally enjoying herself. Geez, why did I come? I smile when Tamina gives me a hug again and then I hear cheers and music begin to play, giving Tamina the signal to enter the room.

The wedding seems to last for hours, but I know it hasn't been that long. Lucky for me, I was smart enough to bring something to fiddle with; my chain whip has always been nice and shiny.

"Would you stop?" Sama hisses quietly in my ear. "Why'd you bring that thing anyway? It's rude!"

"No it's not! It's keeping the boredom at bay." I hiss back. I can hear her groan under her breath, but I ignore her.

Near us I can hear the ceremony coming to a close and that's when I'm about to get up and run for the hills.

"STOP!" The shout from the guards have my plans ruined instantly when I look up and see a man dresses in black raise a hand baring a knife and race at an unnatural speed towards the newly married couple!

Time seems to slow around me! I glance at the assassin, over towards Dastan, and then back at him. He's going after Dastan! I'm too my feet a little too late though, because he gets by me before I can get in front of him.

Before I lose my chance, I rip out my chain whip and snap it forward. It wraps around his arm perfectly and I pull back with a stern jerk. The blades rip into his flesh, but not enough to cause massive damage; I don't want him dead, yet.

The assassin jerks around, our eyes lock, and I slowly pull on my whip, forcing him to move to my will. His arm, and the dagger, hit the floor.

Screams finally die down, it's odd how I didn't hear them until now, and guards surround us in a flash, taking the assassin into their charge.

"Daria!" Tamina and Sama both approach me as I wrap my whip back up and retie it onto my side. I don't look away from the assassin and neither does he. His black eyes are deadly and strange, sending a shiver down my spine. He's not normal, something's not right here.

* * *

"Are you insane?" Arsalan snaps, jumping to his feet when he finishes telling them where he's been all night.

"Calm down. You're drawing attention." Firuz grabs Arsalan's shoulder. "We need to take this back to the hide out."

"I agree." Kas says with a smile, spinning on his heel and heading back towards the stable they were currently hiding in.

"You're just agreeing because you don't want to talk about this right now!" Arsalan growls, lowering his voice to a hiss in Kas's ear.

"Yep because right now you're mad and I don't want to be yelled at." Kas grins.

"Coward."

"Say what you will."

Firuz just shakes his head as he follows behind his arguing friends. Kas had returned late this morning after a long morning of trying to dodge guards and find his way out. He had conveniently come stumbling out the front entrance, passing tow guards who dismissed him as a drunken servant.

Kas can't even believe they called him that! He didn't dress that badly did he?

He glances down at himself, wondering.

He's dressed in a faded black, plain sleeveless shirt, its v-neck opening widely over his chest. A dark red face wrap circles around his neck, the hood hanging lazily down his back. Black pants tuck into his brown boots with a brown belt wrapped around his waist. His two, curved blade swords usually rest across his back, but he had left them back at the stables so that he could scale the castle side without the extra weight holding him down. All in all, he doesn't dress that poorly.

"Do I dress like a servant?" He asks Firuz.

"Huh?" The younger boy asks, glancing at him as if he's crazy.

Kas is really getting tired of people looking at him like that. The guards had done the same thing!

"No, why?"

"No reason." He answers shaking his head.

They finally enter into the stable from the roof top and sit down in their circle.

"Now explain to me why it is you put not only yourself in danger, but also the rest of us as well?" Arsalan's anger returns out of the blue and Kas drops his head in defeat. Why bother? He might as well face it head on.

"Very well, I found an easier way into the castle, but we'll have to go through the dungeons underground. There are a lot of hallways and rooms in there, but it's pretty easy once you get the basic shape of the castle in your head. It's shaped like a 'T'. The front of the castle is basically all the front chambers and bedrooms. Near the back is the main throne room and main hall. I got a quick glance at the throne room on my way through and I think I saw a doorway in the back. That's got to be where all the valuables and really good treasures are." Kas explains, drawing the layout in the sand around them.

"So we have to get through the entire castle to reach that room?" Firuz asks.

"No, the dungeon entrance is actually in one of the towers near the throne room. We can take the stairs directly up and then into the main hall. Once there, the fun will begin. The only ones in the main hall are two guards who occasionally pass through on their rounds. You okay there, Arsalan?" Kas chuckles at his friend's expression. The bulky young man, even though as muscular as he is, doesn't really care to fight if he can help it.

The color comes back to the muscle man and he nods. "Y-yeah, but…that's a lot of guards."

"Two? Are you serious?" Firuz chuckles.

"Shut it." He growls weakly.

They all share a good laugh, not realizing the chaos breaking out in the very castle they speak of.

* * *

I watched as they drug the assassin away, the man glared directly at me the whole way. His eyes still stick into my memory like a bad dream that just won't go away. Now, an hour later, Dastan and Tamina are off in another room with a bunch of other people discussing what to do with him. Sama has been eating since then. She hates stressful situations, but at least she can sit still. My feet turn me around again, carrying me back towards the other side of the room. If I keep this up any longer, the floor will fall out from under me for sure.

"Daria, sit still. They figure out what to do just fine. Then we'll all head back into the throne room and finish up the wedding and then eat our weight in food that we'll never work off." Sama chuckles weakly, trying to get me to stop thinking so much about the situation.

How could I? Sure I stopped an assassin from killing Dastan, but why did he glare at me as if he hated my very being? Shouldn't he have been glaring at Dastan or Tamina? That would've made more since.

Two hands grab my shoulders and force me to a stop. "Will you calm down? Jeez! Sit down!"

Sama pushes down hard on my shoulders, knocking my knees out from under me and forcing me to fall into a nearby pile of pillows. She then returns to her own seat and watches me with a steady gaze; ready to jump up if I decide to start pacing again. Since she wants to play it that way, I cross my legs and tap my foot nervously.

Eventually that too gets on her nerves and she jumps after me. I dodge and take for the door, Sama close at my heels. I run out into the hall and head for the room Tamina is having her meeting. If I have to wait then I'll wait in there with them. That way, Sama won't be able to kill me.

She gets a hold of my elbow, but I pull her forwards, both of us come dangerously close to hitting the door of the room in question. We skid to a stop quickly.

"That was close." I breathe.

She's about to smack me across the head, but the door suddenly pops open and a guard, big and brawny, steps out, crossing his arms and glaring down at us.

We smile sheepishly and back away a little.

That's when I hear Tamina's voice.

"We can't just kill him off before knowing his intentions. Why did he come here to kill? What was the point of that when he could've killed us in our sleep?"

"We can't just let him live either! He nearly killed you, princess!" Someone yells in protest.

"But we don't know that for sure. Daria stopped him before he could do anything." Dastan cuts in.

"Ah, yes, your thief friend. Are you sure it's a good idea to have rabble like that inside the castle walls. They could be the next to turn on you-"

"No!" Tamina's legendary anger is starting to bubble.

Sama and I push the guard aside and press our ears to the door.

"They are close friends of ours and they have been for a long time now. Do NOT even think that they would do anything like that!"

The room goes silent for a long time until someone moves inside. "It's settled then. The assassin will be questioned before his sentence it decided. Any objections?" Dastan asks. No one answers so I believe Tamina's outburst has put them all in their place.

I lean away from the door when I sense the person next to me. Sama and I stare at the guard who has leaned in next to us to listen too.

"You didn't hear anything." He points out.

"Nope!" We smile before spinning off and run away.

We skid to a stop in the main hall, glancing around at all the doorways around us.

"Are we heading to the dungeon?" Sama asks.

"Yep. I want to know what that assassin has to say." As if on cue, my words have the door to Tamina's meeting opening and a tall man stepping out. He points to two of the guards and they follow him, approaching us.

I grab my friend by the arm and we quickly duck behind a few plants to hide. The man and his sentries walk by, speaking low.

"The princess will have her question, but we must make sure that threat is killed. Get him to talk before I take of the rest. Understood?" The man asks.

"Yes." The two answer in union.

That man's voice hits me with recognition. He's the one who had called Sama and I rabble! My eyes narrow and glare at him as they walk by. We take our time, ducking behind cover now and then as we follow behind them. They lead us straight to one of the towers just off the main hall right outside of the throne room, and then down a long spiraling staircase. The dungeon is poorly lit and smells curiously of sweat and something else entirely. Death?

We stop behind a wall as the man enters one of the cells with the two guards. Another guard, standing before the cell, opens the door for them and closes it behind them. Their voices carry to us just fine, though, so we don't move from our hiding spot.

"Stand, prisoner!" A guard snaps. Someone grunts after being hit, but the movement eventually comes to a stop.

"What is your name?" The man who called us rabble asks.

No answer.

"Answer me, damn you! I am the head of military, so don't think I won't kill you here and now!"

Still no answer.

Someone quickly moves again and a scream breaks into the air, causing us to flinch. A body falls to the floor.

"I'll make you suffer dearly for what you've done; then again, you can stop the pain if you just talk."

"I won't suffer as much as you all will." A strange weak voice answers. It's smooth as silk and beyond normal. It sounds so full of power!

I glance at Sama and she nods, hearing it too.

"You all? You mean Alamut?"

"No, this world."

Everything goes quiet. "What do you mean? Speak."

"The original guardians of the Sand Glass are the ones who have brought this fate on this world. You should ask them." The strange voice says, chuckling.

"How…do you know of the Sand Glass?" The head of military asks.

"We are the ones who made it for the gods. They placed the sands of Time within it. It's because of us that the End that you all fear is locked away in our creation." The voice, obviously a man's, takes a breath and then coughs before continuing. "We know it has been cracked and if the object of Time is not retrieved, protected, and returned to the gods, then this world will cease to exist."

"Huh?" Sama whispers. I quickly cover her mouth, before her voice can carry into the echoing dungeon. Even a whisper can carry down here.

"The dagger is perfectly safe. We have made sure." The military leader assures him.

Dagger? Yeah, Dastan had mentioned something about that in one of his stories one time, but I can't seem to remember…

"The dagger?" The man scoffs, laughing out loud. "The dagger is merely an example of the power the true object of Time has. It doesn't compare at all!"

My eyes widen at this bit of information. Another object of power? It's more powerful than the dagger? If it's not returned, the gods will destroy the world?...Great, now what?...

* * *

Kas scoots back away from the hole in the wall. He had climbed up into the air vent so he could get a better look at the dungeon, but he had run into this interrogation instead. It overlooks into the cell itself, giving him full view of the whole thing. He remains frozen in shock. The man curled up on the floor, his hands held fast behind his back, had just gave him a great piece of information.

A dagger, another object more powerful than that, and something called a sand glass. He'd never heard of any of these things before, but he was definitely going to find out. He can see it now: all three of them in his possession could get him a lot if he had them. He wonders just how much someone would be willing to pay for this 'power'. Then again, this 'eng of time' stuff sounds serious too…Nah!

He quickly and quietly slides back out of his hide out inside the air vent in the wall. As he comes out, he lets his legs hang out over the top of the roof he had used to climb inside and then drops down a whole inch. He picks up his curved swords and straps them back on his back before taking off back towards the inner castle wall. When he finally makes it back to the street, Firuz and Arsalan appear out of nowhere and jerk him into the shadows between two buildings.

"Where the hell have you been now?" Arsalan growls.

"Calm yourself and listen to this…"

* * *

"What are you talking about? Are you sure?" Tamina falls slowly into a nearby pillow.

"We've told you all that we know. At least…all that we could hear. The rest of the conversation was a lot of whispering and hissing and then some torture for the assassin, but other than that, yeah that's pretty much it." I nod, fiddling with the chain whip hanging from my side.

Dastan finally moves after a long time of standing like a statue against the wall while we told our story. He goes to Tamina's side and places a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe I should call on my brothers. They can stay here with you and help protect Alamut while I take a look at the supposed 'object of Time'. We can't seriously be sure it's real until we see it with our own eyes."

"I'm going with you." I add, standing up straighter off the table I'm leaning against.

"Me too." Sama agrees.

"No, I can't have all this chaos right now. It's too dangerous." Tamina cuts us all of with a voice so small that it surprises me.

"Tamina," Sama whispers getting on her knees in front of the princess, "What do you know of all this? The assassin said something about the original guardians of the Sand Glass causing all of this."

"No!" Tamina cries. "The original guardians, the first five, kept all of the secrets of the Sand Glass and they passed them forward to the next guardians in line when they were old enough to learn of their birth right."

"Maybe…" I trail off. They all turn to look at me. "What if…the last of those five decided that **some** of those secrets were better left buried with the sands? What if he or she decided not to pass along **all** of those secrets, and so those secrets were never known later by the next guardian? Maybe that's why you, or even your past relatives, wouldn't know about it."

I look up and see that they all stare at me as if I've lost my mind.

"What? You never know!" I defend myself, flinging my arms out.

Sama sighs. "Tamina, Daria may have a point. She makes sense. Is there anyone who may know anything about this?"

"Princess?" A guard enters into the room, asking permission to advance further. Tamina gives him permission and he comes forward, carrying an arm full of objects. "These were found on the assassin's person." He sets them out and then leaves the room.

Dastan and I surround the table and give the objects a good look over. Nothing out of the ordinary, really: daggers, poison vials, smoke screen powder, a pair of twin swords, and a rolled up sheet of paper with an odd drawing on it.

"This looks like the Sand Glass." Dastan whispers under his breath. I can just make out the words so I glance over at him as he unrolls the parchment. A sketchy drawing covers most of it surrounded by smaller, almost indecipherable, writing. "It talks about it." He says a little bit louder when he catches my looking.

"This Sand Glass thing?"

"Tamina, I think it's time we tell them. Everything." Dastan grabs my shoulder and turns me around to face the woman. Tamina stares at him for a good long moment before nodding.

"Near the beginning, the god's wrath almost destroyed this world, but a small child came forth…she was the first guardian…"

Tamina's story continued and I finally learned why this place called Alamut was really sacred.

Nearly an hour later, her voice finally stops and Sama and I are allowed to pound them with questions.

"Wait, but how did you find out again; about what happened with you and Dastan? I thought you said he turned back time and went back to the second before they raided the castle and revealed that his uncle had betrayed them. If he did that then how did you remember again?" I ask.

"Simple. Dastan eventually told me, and I believed him. It wasn't impossible, so he had to be telling me the truth. There's no way he could have known that much about the dagger and the Sand Glass and not be telling the truth." Tamina glances up at Dastan and smiles.

"I had to eventually tell her. She interrogated me to no end." He laughs.

"So, this dagger, where is it now?" I cut into their happy moment with a little hesitation.

Tamina stares at me long and hard. "Come with me."

She leads out of the room, down through the main hall, and into the throne room where she passes by said throne and back towards the back wall. There, two statues, both tall males wearing armor and baring swords that they hold blade down in front of them, stand tall and proud on either side of a rounded golden door with runes and designs that look older than time itself. She slips a golden key from around her wrist and fits it into the door, turning it gently. Around the door, different runes move and shift until the door finally clicks open.

"This room must never be opened by anyone, but me." Tamina tells us. We nod.

She leads us into a circular room where tall columns reach to the ceiling gold fabrics drape here and there from the roof, making the room look more royal than the throne room. In the dead center of the room, atop a round stage that also serves as a step, a tall round golden cylinder stands with a round doorway carved into its front; revealing its treasure inside.

My thoughts start to wonder away from me, my treasure hunter self surfacing. 'I wonder how much someone would pay for that.'

There, held up on a pedestal with the sun shining down on it from the two massive windows on the back side of the room, is a beautiful majestic dagger. Its hilt is crystal clear like glass while the dagger itself is covered in runes and designs of a foreign nature. It's just screaming 'look at me, I'm special!'

I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Of course it would be screaming that; it's obvious that the darn thing is special. Why does that always happen? It's like everything that's powerful or out of the ordinary always has to stand out. It's so predictable!

"Wow. Pretty." Sama mumbles to herself. I glance over at her. Her eyes are wide and pinpointed on the dagger and I can see the thief there behind that look. She's been hanging out with me too long.

"Down girl." I pat her shoulder and whisper in her ear.

She smiles sheepishly and lowers down off her toes slowly. "Sorry."

Tamina takes a step up the center rise and heads towards the dagger slowly, bowing low once, before reaching for it. She gently touches the tip and handle as if it will break if she's not careful. Dastan goes by her side when she stops just before the step down from the rise. We step up to her as well and stare at the dagger.

"This is the dagger I spoke of. Inside its hilt are the legendary sands of Time. The dagger only holds enough to go back into time three times, about a minutes worth if you want the simple terms. It's very dangerous if not used the right way. Dastan learned that the hard way." Tamina gives Dastan a knowing look.

"Well, the first time I hit it on accident. The second and third time I hit it were for curiosity. After that the sand was used up and I couldn't use the dagger anymore, so I had to face Tamina's anger alone." He chuckles. "Can I try it again?"

"I think you've had your fun." Tamina brushes his hand away, pulling the dagger away from his clawing fingers with a smile.

"So, if that's the dagger, then what's the other 'object of Time'?" I stare at the dagger a little more closer and try to decipher the runes with no success.

"I don't know and I don't know where it could be hidden."

"Maybe we should still have a look at the Sand Glass. The crack may have not been fully fixed." Dastan adds to her statement.

"What if the crack is still there? Could it get worse?" Sama voices her opinion, eyeing the dagger with a look of worry. "If it does, we all die along with the rest of the world."

"Way to be positive, Sama." I groan.

"I'm being realistic."

"It's annoying."

"Get over it."

"Okaaay." Tamina cuts our argument. "I think Dastan is right. I'll send for my most trusted guards to escort you there. The original pathway there has been…temporarily shut down since our last visit down there apparently." She eyes Dastan before continuing. "So I'll have you take my personal pathway down there. It's much safer."

Tamina calls for two guards to lead us to the Sand Glass, the great legend buried under the city, but I don't understand why we need guards to lead us there. It's just a pathway, how hard could it be to walk?

She replaces the dagger back onto the pedestal and then goes over to one of the columns standing in the middle of the room and touches one of the designs carved into it, turning it slowly.

Sama and I quickly leap up onto the rise as a section of the colored tile circling the floor falls out from under us and lowers down in section after section, forming a stairway leading down into the darkness below.

"Whoa!" We exclaim together.

"This is the easiest way down." Tamina smiles at our expressions. "Please be careful." She quickly kisses Dastan, but it's deep and loving. I try to erase the image before I gag. I really hope I don't get that hooked on a guy when I'm older. Ugh!

"We will. Daria, Sama." He follows the two guards down the secret stair way and we chase after them, waving at Tamina with smiles. She returns our smiles but she looks more worried than anything else.

As they disappear, Tamina turns the design again and the floor closes, returning to normal. As she leaves the room she doesn't notice that the door had been open the entire time she had closed the secret way nor did she note the eyes that had seen their entire act.

* * *

_Okaaaaaay, that chapter was shorter than I thought it was...hmm._

_Anyhoo, I just realized that, yes I had to look up theses people's names cause I don't know any Persian names, Daria and Kas both mean treasure...ROFL!_

_Odd huh? Seeing as they're both treasure hunters. HAHAHA!_

_Please review and enjoy! (But please don't be too hateful... :D )_


	3. Chapter 3: Undercity

_These chapters just get shorter and shorter! Sorry!_

_I just now finished typing this one and I was going to make it longer, but, hey, writers-block sucks. So here's what I got so far._

_Please read, enjoy, and review! ( I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_

* * *

_*Chapter 3*

"Please tell me you two saw that too?" Kas breathes, watching the rather beautiful royal walk away down the main hall, closing the throne room doors behind her.

"Yeah, but what are we doing now? The guards are nowhere around, the princess is out to lunch, and the dagger is…currently unwatched." Firuz points out from behind the tall plant.

Kas and Arsalan turn their eyes to the youngest boy. Even though he was the youngest, he could hold his own in a fight. His specialty was explosives. He had introduced the two to the strange power when they had met, but now it's an everyday thing to them now. Firuz, his dark brown hair pulled back into a rat tail and dark brown eyes, always has to be the mature one and Kas has been trying to loosen him up for years, but nothing has worked so far. Arsalan, and all his muscles, really just uses his brawny form to scare people, but in all truth he's as soft as his light brown eyes and short black hair which he keeps messy all the time. He uses his axe when he has to, but most of the time he only uses it as a prop or to knock down doors that get in the way.

Kas on the other hand loves a good adventure, getting into trouble is sort of his hobby, and does everything in his power to pull his friends into everything he does.

"Well, I say we take a look downstairs." Kas smiles excitedly, skipping away into the room. He had slipped a door block into the doorway so that even though it's closed, the locks won't work because the door isn't closed all the way.

"And I say we stick to the first plan and do what we originally came here to do. Get in, steal the dagger, and get out."

"Yeah, but that's no fun!" Kas slaps his arm gently before slipping into the room.

"Of course it's not." Arsalan sighs, shrugging and following after him. As they enter the room, Firuz goes to get a closer look at the dagger in question while Arsalan continues to nag. "I really think we should just stick to the plan, Kas. We could really get into a lot of trouble here. Let's just grab the dagger and leave. It's right there in front of us! We can grab it with no problem. Heck, Firuz already has it in his hands so that cuts one step out of our plan already and that means that we're one step closer to getting paid."

"Arsalan! I get it okay? Calm down. You two can take the dagger and leave, I'll be right behind you. I just want to go down there and see what all their fuss was about. I'll meet you back at the hide out and then we can return to our boring lives." Kas smiles as he finishes the puzzle before him, turning the designs on the column and the floor opening up again revealing the secret passage way, and then he pats his friend on the arm. He disappears down the steps and into the darkness before either of them can argue.

"That boy's going to get us killed one of these days." He groans in defeat. Firuz nods in agreement, still staring at the dagger in wonder.

* * *

"Are you people INSANE?" I scream, dodging another round of darts that come in measured waves at me. Two zip by so close to my ear that I can almost hear them say 'darn we missed her again!' I dodge roll across the floor, slamming against the wall with a thud.

"Well I tried to warn you, but you didn't listen." Dastan calls from behind the corner, ducking quickly as the wave of darts I just dodged comes whizzing by.

"You didn't do crap!" I snap back.

"I didn't have time to!"

"Yeah, you did! How long does it take to say 'it's booby-trapped'?"

"Apparently, not long enough for you!"

"Would you two shut up!" Sama yells, cutting off our bickering.

I'm finally able to get close to where the darts are flying out of the wall and stand up to a long line of levers.

"It's the left one." Dastan tells me, ducking away from another wave.

I start to reach for the left one.

"No, the left one!"

"This is the left one!"

"No, the other one."

"Are you directionally-challenged? This is the left one!" I growl, spinning around to face him.

"By the gods!" Sama spins out from behind the wall, reaching under the upper rim of her top and then flinging out her hands. I didn't even see the miniature blades that she produced, but I can hear them fly past me and break into the wall, knocking the far left lever up into the wall.

I spin around a second later to find two tiny dart-like throwing knives stuck into the lever. "Thank you? For…nearly killing me?"

"Don't worry, if I was aiming for you, you'd be dead right now." Sama responds through clenched teeth.

'Okay, she's mad.' I think, taking a measured step away from her.

"Thank you, Sama, for-"

"Don't talk to me, child." She growls.

Dastan follows my act, with the guards mimicking him, watching the Ngbaka warily.

This is going to be a long walk.

We all continue on, winding through long hallways, short spiraling stairways and even longer hallways still. Finally, they pass through a bigger circular room with statues standing around the outer rim, making it look like a castle chamber.

"Wow, you people know how to decorate." I mumble.

"That's Tamina for you." Dastan shrugs.

Sama ignores the fact that we've stopped and heads out across the room towards the rounded archway on the other side leading out of the room. A larger and flashier stairway leads down into the next hallway.

"Does that lead into another trap or is it okay to go skipping on our marry way?" I grin, threading my words with as much sarcasm as I can.

He glares at me.

With that I chuckle and follow after my friend.

As we near the bottom of the stares I stop, pulling Sama to a halt to. We stare confused at a dead end, the far wall swirling with all these pretty designs.

"That's...the Sand Glass?" Sama asks in disbelief.

"I thought it'd be bigger." I add, leaning towards her to speak.

"No, the Sand Glass is beyond it." Dastan says as he walks past us.

"So you finally admit that you're directionally-challenged?" I grin at him. He's so easy to pick on.

"No, I said nothing-"

Sama rips out two throwing knives, baring them to our eyes, and we shut up.

"All I have to do is turn this switch, which flips that lever, which starts that...then,"

"Okay, we get it: it's a long chain of reactions. Yay." My sarcasm and annoyance have me throwing my arms up with a groan and going to sit impatiently by the wall. Like I said, this will be a veeeerry long walk.

Suddenly, a round of loud thuds come spilling down the stair, causing me and Sama to jump to attention and spin around; me drawing my knife from around my ankle and Sama ripping out four blades from out of nowhere.

A body flips over one last time, coming to a heavy pound at the bottom of the stairs. The boy growls in pain.

"Agh! Damn!"

Sama and I glance at each other then back at the boy. This is the threat? A boy? Seriously?

He finally turns himself up right and stands up, glaring up at the long flight of stairs he had descended from. As he brushes off the dirt from his clothes he finally turns around towards us and freezes, his dark green eyes going wide.

"Uh..."

I pull out of my defensive position and give him a once over, quickly dismissing him as just that, a boy. He wears a simple sleeveless top, cutting down in a v-neck pattern to show off his chest, a pair of pants with wide belts circling his waist, and a red face wrap that hangs loosely around his neck and down his back where the hood dangles. Not much to look at.

"Hi?" Sama asks, confusion still keeping her from catching up.

"He followed us, Sama. He's not on our side. That is, unless you know him Dastan?" I look over my shoulder at my older brother.

"No, I haven't seen him before. How'd you get down here?" He quickly takes over his duties and starts interrogating the young boy.

"Uh..." The boy repeats, his foot scooting backwards a little. I catch the movement quickly. What is he going to do, run?

"I think I'll just take my chances with the dagger." He mumbles to himself. I don't think anyone else heard, but I did.

My eyes narrow at the boy and I blow out a whistle. The guards we had left in the circular room behind come down the stairs as the boy tries to turn around, grabbing him quickly.

"What dagger?" I ask, taking a step towards him.

He eye me carefully, giving me a look over to, and my eyes narrow even more. He quickly smiles as if I'm nothing at all and turns to Dastan.

"I must've taken a wrong turn so if you'll please let me go, I'll leave immediately." He says with a grin. I would've believed the lie, it was delivered so well, but I can see the mischief behind it and quickly think otherwise.

"I don't think so. You said dagger and until I know what dagger, you'll be staying here." I answer for Dastan. The boy turns his attention back to me, a lazy look in his eyes, and he grins wider.

"No thanks." Spinning, he skillfully rips himself out of the guards' arms and races back up the stairs. I shake my head as I follow, flipping my knife in my hand until I hold the blade between my fingers. Right when I enter the room, he is just about to turn the corner when I toss the blade, sending it flying through the air, and it pins his shirt up against the wall right above his shoulder. He grunts and stares at the blade in surprise.

"Darn, I missed." I yawn calmly, walking towards him.

"Yeah, you should've killed me when you had the chance." He rips the dagger free, releasing himself, and throws it back at me. I'm surprised at the speed as I dodge it quickly. It clips the tips of my hair as it passes!

As I right myself, I find him racing at me with two curved blades in his hands and I quickly leap into the air, spinning over his head, as I pull out my twin dual blades off my back and from around my waist. I land on the ground, my cape flowing across the ground around me and the rest of my hood falling off my head. Yes, I like to wear my hood indoors. Don't ask.

He faces me then, getting a good look at me and my swords, obviously he hadn't seen them before, and he shakes his head a little.

"Well, you're better than I thought you'd be." He complements with a mocking bow and his annoying little grin. Jeez, he such a child!

"Gee, thanks." I grin back. We begin to circle the room refusing to let our eyes wander off the other opponent. Sama and the rest finally make it up the stairs. I wonder what took them so long?

He runs at me again, but this time I'm ready. I run right back at him, drop the ground and hit his shins with the bottom of my hilts. He yells and trips to the ground. He's not very well balanced is he?

I flip back up onto my knee and stand up. He starts to turn over onto his back so I quickly pin him down, straddling his stomach and bare the tip of my sword to his throat. He drops his swords.

"Okay, you're really good."

I roll my eyes. Men are so weird. "Dastan, you want me to kill him here or do you want him taken to the dungeon where he can be tortured?" The memory of the assassin flashes across my mind and I blink quickly. Why had that just happened?

"Take him to the dungeon." Dastan motions to the two guards who pull out strong looking leather bands and start heading over towards us.

"Hmm….no, I think not." The boy moves, catching me off guard, and a sharp blow hits me at the back of my skull, throwing me forward and knocking my swords out of my grip.

I hiss!

His hands grab my arms and easily throw me to the side, sometimes I hate being a girl, and then he's up to his feet again.

Okay, now I'm mad! With my blades out of my reach, my chain whip is the last resort, so I pull it loose and snap it forward. The individual blades are too small to do any real damage unless I pull really hard, but they tough enough to hold even the strongest man down. The whip circles him, trapping his arms to his body and he smashes into the wall where the guards are finally able to hold him down and tie his hands.

"How many weapons do you have?" He snaps.

I head over and pull my whip free from his body. "Enough." I answer, glaring into his eyes.

* * *

_Ah! Finally the two 'treasures' meet! Man, I still can't get over that. I really should've put more time into picking out names…_

_Well, this chapter is going to be a big lead up to the next chapter which will most likely be the longest in the entire story just because it's the big turning point that really brings the story to life!_

_By the way, I just want to go ahead and start my long line of thanks to Blue Rowan (and her awesome sister) who took the time to listen to my annoying rants and helped me come up with the AWESOME, the MAJESTIC, the AMAZING…well, okay it's just an accessory, but it's still totally COOL thanks to her (and her sister, I just wanted to point that out)! You guys rule!_

_Please review and enjoy! (But please don't be too hateful... :D )_


	4. Chapter 4: Aeon

_I promised you guys a long chapter, so here it is. I know it may not be as long as y'all would've hoped, but hey, I tried. This chapter has got to be my favorite so far because I get to introduce Blue Rowan and her sister's idea for the other 'object of Time' other than that annoyingly OBVIOUS dagger that people seem to love for some reason._

_Okay, here y'all go!_

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_

* * *

_*Chapter 4*

"Well, that was interesting." Sama chuckles.

"Shut up." I growl, rubbing my arm. Man, he really threw me hard! I'm not complaining, but that was a lot harder than I've been thrown before. Most men are too courteous and weak towards women to throw me that hard, so I usually got out of scrapes like that easily, but dang!

Well, I had to hand it to the boy; he could beat me in an arm wrestle that's for sure.

"Okay." Sama glances at me in surprise. Yeah, I know she can see the annoyed expression decorating my face, but I don't really care right now.

"Can we go now?" I turn to Dastan who finally finishes with the symbols on the wall and it pops open with a sudden blast of pressure. The two guards pull it open and wait for us to carry on through. The next room is darker, only lit by two torches and the light carrying in from outside the puzzle door behind us, but it's easy to see that Tamina has puzzle issues. The round room is lined with eight different doorways.

"Good gracious!" I throw my arms up again.

"We really need to work on your patients." Sama comments.

"You're one to talk!"

"I…think it's this on here, but-." Dastan starts, but I cut him off.

"You think or you know?"

He glares at me. "I think."

"Well, then it looks like we're splitting up. I'll take this way." Sama points to a doorway off to the left.

"I'll take the one in the center." Dastan adds.

"Then I'll take this one." I sigh heavily as I approach the doorway to the far right. It's funny how all the other puzzles and traps had answers, Tamina didn't leave squat for us in this one. I head off into the darkened hallway, instantly regretting that I didn't grab one of those torches, and eventually press my hands along the walls to feel my way along. It's not totally dark, so I know that light has to be filtering from somewhere nearby; all I have to do is find out where. The hallway continues on for a good long time before-

"AGH!" The floor falls out from under me and I start sliding down a long hill of sand towards gods-know-what. 'Great, here come the spikes!' I can't help, but think.

The slide suddenly ends and I tumble into a roll across the new level floor, skidding to a stop on my side.

"Okay, ow!" I growl, rubbing my head and sitting up. My eyes go wide in horror. If I had slide anymore, I would gone right off into Hades. The floor ends and drops into the darkness below. "Oh gods!" I mumble, falling back onto my back in relief.

The feeling has my head spinning and rumbling loudly.

Wait.

That's not my head.

Sitting up again, I stare off across the gap and swallow heavily before my jaw drops and my eyes bug out of my head. A long narrow bridge stretches out across the canyon, twisting and spiraling up like stair ways to heaven towards a tall winding, not to mention glowing, form that seems to move under its frozen state. The surface looks like…glass.

'Is this it?' I wonder.

* * *

Just Her Luck

(Sama's POV)

Sama comes to another turn and sighs. Daria was right; she really does have to work on her patients. She scratches her head and continues on, wondering how the others are doing in their search. Maybe she should've gone with Daria. The girl did have a temper problem.

If she got lost, they'd probably be able to find her; all they'd have to do is follow the raging screams and curses.

The thought has Sama smiling to herself. She can almost picture her friend attacking the walls and ground with her swords in her anger and then sitting on the floor in annoyance later on with a red face after they'd found her.

This would've had her laughing out loud if it not for the next turn which brings her to a stop.

A sign etched into the wall above the stairway before her, might as well be blinking 'look at me!'.

It reads: this way to the Sand Glass.

'Really now?' Sama drops her head into her hand in annoyance.

* * *

I finally grunt as I pull myself up the final climb of the broken stair way and stand before the giant frozen structure. It is the Sand Glass. I know even though I've never seen it, or heard of it, before in my life. Sure I'd heard legends about the mysteries of time, but I never believed any of them.

And now here I stand. The Sand Glass spirals up like a pillar to the ceiling stories high above me and then disappears below me into total darkness just like back at the canyon.

No yet sure if I should touch it, I walk the small walkway around it, looking over it carefully in wonder. It's truly amazing.

The power raging inside the glass itself is menacing. The only thing that has me still standing here instead of running away like a smart person is the fact that the glass around it has it sealed.

Sealed…

I snap back to reality. The assassin said something about it being cracked. I quickly look around for any disruptions in the surface of the glass, back tracking over and over until I finally stop. There's nothing here. Was Dastan sure that the dagger had pierced it?

I put my hands on my hips and huff. Nothing. So we came all this way here for nothing. Joy

I turn away and start moving to climb down the narrow stairway again, but something tosses a strand of my hair as I turn. The strand twists and turns in a gentle and playful manor, almost like it is being blown by a soft breeze, but I can see small particles of…something sparkling past along with the wind.

I turn back around and hold my hand out. I can feel the gentle pressure of the breeze as I follow it back to the source. My hand finally comes to a halt about an inch away from the surface of the glass.

"Seriously?" I growl. "We're down here for a chip this small?"

My voice echoes loudly into the cavern around me and the breeze abruptly stops and the rumbling rapidly ceases.

I freeze. Great, what'd I do now? I turn back to the spot where the chip was supposedly at and bring my hand up again. "Uh…little chip?"

I touch the glass and all Hades breaks loose!

Sand and wind blasts from the tiny hole in a force stronger than anything I can imagine, sending me flying back off the walkway and into the air.

Of course I can't see any of this; I'm surrounded in a whirlwind of sparkling sand and wind that tosses my like a simple feather. That's when everything slows and nearly comes to a stop. Silence surrounds me again and time itself seems to pause, but everywhere I look the sand just seems to be moving in slow motion.

_Your name, child._

'Whoa! What?' I think to myself. The voice, beautiful beyond compare, whispers softly from somewhere around me. Is it the sand itself?

After a long moment the voice comes again.

_Your name._

Do I answer? It can't be talking to me. Sand isn't supposed to be talking at all!

_Your name._

"Alright! It's Daria!" I answer quickly, getting tired of the nagging. My sour attitude doesn't seem to faze the voice at all.

_You have come here for something, have you not?_

"Something was said about the Sand Glass being cracked, so we came down here to see." I answer truthfully, suddenly feeling small.

_I see._

A long pause.

_So you did not come looking for me?_

"The sand? No."

_No, not the sand, for me._

"I don't follow." Confusing hits me like a rock.

_I am Aeon, the power of Time._

"Aeon? You mean the Sand Glass isn't the power?"

_No, the Sand Glass is what keeps me protected, but now that is no longer so. If I am kept here, the Sand Glass will eventually break and the wrath of the gods will be released. This world will be no more._

"Hold on! Then why don't you just leave?"

_I cannot. I cannot leave on my own. I must be protected at all times. Without it I will be released and uncontrollable. Only the gods will have control then and they do not hold favor with this world._

"Yeah I could tell from the story. Well, then why don't you get a protector then? Tamina is the guardian now, so why don't you let her help you?"

_She cannot._

"Okay, yeah, now I'm really confused!" I growl.

_She is only the guardian of the Sand Glass and the dagger which was placed in her possession. I am on the inside. It is to my understanding that the last of the first five guardians didn't pass on the knowledge of me to the next._

"Yeah, Tamina mentioned something about that."

_Then it is understood._

"What is?"

_Your heart is still innocent, untouched._

"Hold on, what?" The voice is confusing me again. It's going too fast.

_That is it then._

"What is?" I yell.

_You have been Chosen._

Time continues, breaking in upon me and covering me. I can't seem to breath. My heart stops for a split second, but that seems to be enough time for something to take hold. Heat, blazing hotter than any fire, tears at my right arm making me scream in pain. It's nothing like I've ever felt before and I've been hurt physically a lot in my life, but this is nothing compared to all those times. The fire burns my skin, licks at my veins, and melds into my very bones.

I can't take it anymore. My body shuts down and I fall unconscious. I swear someone screams my name…

* * *

"Damn it! Do something!" The distant voice echoes so far away.

"We've tried! If she doesn't wake up, then you can't blame us!" Another distant voice snaps, followed by a slow drawn out slam of a door.

"Sama, please calm down." Another voice adds.

"Don't tell me to be calm! Her heart is barely beating and you want me to be calm?"

"Sama, please."

"Shut up! Just shut up!" The first voice cries. The loud thump of knees hitting the floor has me really worried then.

'Sama, don't worry. I'm fine! I'm here!' I think.

I try to move, but my control over my body is no longer here. I can't seem to reach myself. I can barely hear anything over the loud thundering in my ears.

Wait, is that my heart?...

Loud, slow, and labored, my heart beats slowly with effort, trying to keep me alive. I hadn't wanted to think about it until now, but the fire in my arm is still there, but it's numbing with each passing second. It's dying away.

And as if on cue, I start to sink back into my body, my heart rate returning to normal slowly, and my control restoring itself.

"Sama." I force out, prying open my eyes. They're blurred and foggy, but I blink it away.

Someone jumps to their feet. "Daria? Daria, are you okay?"

"No, can't you tell?" I growl, my voice scratchy.

She laughs in relief when I answer her. "Yeah, you look fine on the outside….sort of, but we can't see the inside."

'Eh?' That has my attention instantly. I look fine on the outside…sort of? What does that mean? Forgetting my tired state and ignoring my soreness, I shoot up out of whatever bed I'm laying on and let my eyes go wide. "What do you mean 'sort of'?" I double over in a fit of coughs.

Sama pats my back as she raises my right arm gently. "This."

I silence my coughing and stare bug-eyed at my forearm. Wrapped around the length of it like a coiled snake, a dark smoky-bronze colored chain circles it with a clear jewel ever ten links or so. Inside the jewels, they are filled with very familiar sparkly sand that I know all too well now. The jewels themselves look smooth, but for some reason I can't help but bet that they're made from the same material that the Sand Glass itself is made of.

"What the heck is this?" My scream tears through the halls of the castle.

* * *

"Sit down!"

The guard knocks him down again as he tries to stand. He hits the floor once more.

"I've been sitting for five hours! My feet are going numb!" He growls.

"Well rub them then." The guard lazily turns away from the prisoner.

Kas lifts up his shackled hands that are locked with thick chains about a foot long to the wall. He pulls the foot of chains to its full length and they snag to a stop. "Love to." He snaps, spitting out sarcasm.

Right now, he wishes he had some way to contact Arsalan and Firuz so that he could tell them what happened. Yeah, sure, like that would ever happen.

Kas turns to look up at the cell next to him. Recognition hits him instantly.

The man leaning against the wall with his back to him is the man he had seen being interrogated when he was in the air vent. His body is covered in bruises and cuts from where he had been through a measureable amount of torture.

The sound of distant arguing comes from the stairway they had brought him down not long ago and he turns to see what's going on; not knowing that things are about to get really weird.

* * *

"Daria, you really shouldn't be walking around!" Sama calls after me, but I ignore her and the pounding in my skull, as I descend the spiraling staircase down to the dungeon.

It's where I wanted to go and it's where I'm going to get, even if I have to knock over an elephant. Not likely, but you never know.

I knock open the door, the impact making my right arm sting a little, and stomp past all the guards who try to stop me right down to the last stall, finding my target easily. The assassin doesn't budge even a bit as I stomp right over and kick his leg. Okay, normally I'm not this mean, but right now I really don't care.

"Okay, what is this? You know something, so you better talk!" I snap, thrusting out my arm and baring the chain bracelet forward for the whole world to see. From the corner of my eye, I can see someone move quickly for a second after whoever it is gets a good look at the object around my arm. I can hear the guards shift and mumble in shock, though they try to cover it up with coughs.

The assassin doesn't move; doesn't bother to even look up. I lose my patients again and kick his leg a little harder this time. This does get his attention because he finally turns to glare up at me. I finally take in his face for the first time.

He's...gorgeous! Well, not the gorgeous as in he's perfect, but he comes pretty darn close. His black eyes are the only off set. They look dead as stone. Cold and flat.

He shifts his eyes down quickly and they widen in shock and amazement. In a second he's on his feet, moving towards me. I back up until his chains finally bring him to a stop. His eyes never leave my arm. Behind me the guards have shifted warily the second the assassin had, but now they stop when he does.

"You know something…don't you? Tell me or I'll kill you." I ask much more sternly now, drawing my knife.

Again his eyes refuse to leave the object melded to my skin, but his mouth starts to spill out words very quickly. The words are confusing at first, but as he continues they seem to burn into my memory.

"_I can't die and now neither can you._

_You are The Chosen, sworn into this task._

_Guard It, you shall, with your very life._

_In return, it gives you all._

_Until It is returned, this world's life is in danger._

_To the Scar of the Heavens you will go._

_The Aeon must be restored to the gods._"

His eyes shift and lock with mine. What in the world is he saying? I don't understand a word of it, but for some reason deep down I think that I do; I just don't want to believe it.

Shaking my head, I back away further. "No way. Forget it."

"You have no choice. You have been chosen." Those are the last words out of his mouth before the weirdest thing I have ever seen happens.

The guy disappears; becoming sand that falls to the floor!

'Sand? What he couldn't turn into something less predictable? Like a flower or something?' I shake my head, still unable to move my horrified look from the pile of dust now scattered on the floor.

"Okay that was just strange." Sama cuts the silence.

"Try to keep up, dear." I tell her, still glued to the floor. He's gone, this…'thing' is still on my arm, a riddle with no answer is stuck in my head, and now there's no one left who knows what to do about this bracelet problem. Now what?

"Good luck now." Someone mumbles from nearby. Wait, I know that voice. It's…

'Perfect!' I scream in my mind. He can help. He doesn't want to be here, I don't want to deal with this problem, so this will work out perfectly. I spin around, pushing past the guards again, and make my way into the main hall of the dungeon. There next to the wall, is a long table where his weapons lay uselessly; not for long though. I grab one and point to his cell door.

"Open it." I order. Odd how these guys listen to me instead of their own princess. It's sad.

When the door is finally open, I stomp in. The boy from still looks pretty beat up from our previous encounter, but he doesn't look that bad. He can still move and that's all I need from him right now.

"Release him." I order again. They obey and release the boy's hands. As they back away, he glances at his wrists, then at them, then at me, his gaze shifting from shock to suspicion.

"No hi? No…it's nice to meet you?"

"I don't have time right now." I cut him off quickly.

He doesn't stand up, so I walk towards him and jab his sword into the hard dirt before him. He shifts back away from me as I advance on him; I try not to grin.

"You do one thing for me and I'll wipe you free of your crime." I tell him, stepping out of the cell for only a second to retrieve a short stool nearby.

"Daria?" Confused voices ask.

I ignore them and place the stool on the floor and then kneeling down to place my elbow down on it.

"Huh?" Right about now I can tell the boy is catching on. "Are you crazy?"

"Cut my arm off and you can leave." I finally say.

Abjections break into the air, first from Sama, then from Tamina and Dastan. The guards move forward too, but I quickly jump up, grab the keys from around their waists as I push them out and then kick the door closed before they can retaliate. Sama grabs onto the door and starts yelling at me.

"Stop this Daria! It's stupid! We can find some other way to fix this. Don't go this far so quickly."

"It's crazy!" Dastan snaps.

Tamina covers her mouth and shakes her head fearfully. "Please don't, Daria, please!"

I turn away from them, find the boy still sitting frozen on the ground in shock, roll my eyes and step over to him hurriedly again.

"Get up." I grab his arm and forcefully pull him to his feet. He stumbles back against the wall, his sword dangling weakly in his hand.

I return to my position on by the stool. "Do it and your free." I say over the screams. He glances down at my arm then back at me. He doesn't speak; then again, I don't think he can. The poor boy looks too frightened to do anything. Great, he can fight a woman who attacks him, but turns to jelly the instant he's asked to do a deadly task. I say deadly because I could die from this. The blood loss alone would be enough to end my life.

I see him take a shaky step forward.

"I can leave?" He asks. The shouts get even louder now that the guards have joined them.

"That's what I said. You have my word." I close my eyes, trying not to think about the fact that I'll have to live without my strongest arm. I hear him move and then the screams get impossibly louder, the cell door rattling; I guess he really is going to do it. I block out all of the noise and take in a deep breath, holding it. I wonder if I'll be able to hold in the scream when it happens. Will it hurt worse than the fire had? Will it be less?

'Good bye arm.' It's my last thought before I open one of my eyes just as his sword blade is coming down on my arm. I'm too late to look away now.

A sharp, glass-breaking sound pierces the air and is followed by an abnormal silence. That's when a warm fire, unlike the last one, fills me up from somewhere in my arm. I open my eyes and stare wide eyed at the scene.

Everything has stopped. The odd thing is: I'm not in my body! I stare down at myself, the boys blade not a centimeter away from my skin, a force, obviously invisible to everyone else, is bursting out of my arm, Sama and everyone are frozen open mouthed and mid-scream, the guards are motionless by the cell door as they try desperately to open it, and I float in the middle of it all. I can move, but I don't think it's on my own. I stare down at my arm. There around it is the bracelet but it glows a bright red and sends cracks up my arm as if I'm made of glass myself; the cracks glow brightly too as if the light is spilling out from inside me.

Things start to move again after that, slowly at first, but it's all in the wrong direction. I watch as people begin to move backwards, cell doors open, swords being pulled from the ground when they should have been forced in, piles of dust reforming into bodies, and an assassin who smiles directly at me when he hadn't before. I'm then thrust backwards up the stairs we had come down and in a blast of pressure, I'm returned to my body.

"Daria, you really shouldn't be walking around!" Comes Sama's voice again. I stumble to a stop as things start to move forward again. My hands fly to my chest, my arm, my face. Everything is normal; all in one piece and not glowing like a flashy candle.

'What the hell?'

Sama finally catches up with me, appearing by my side. I turn to face her, completely confused. What had just happened?

"Y-you already said that." I stumble.

"What?"

Holy crap!

I spin away and fly down the stairs, passing the guards who I knew would be there, and skidding to a stop in front of the cell where the assassin would be.

One problem: he isn't there.

* * *

_Just to let you know, the whole 'Just Her Luck' segment was an add in that I later decided to put in. I figured Sama would like a turn in the story too._

_Yay, this chapter is complete and…really long. Sorry it took me so long to post and I'm sorry to inform you all that I'll have to take a long break for a while and give my fingers a rest._

_Don't blame me; blame the monkeys throwing the bananas!_

_Just kidding, but I do understand how annoying it is to have cliffhangers like these plastered at the ends of chapters and you know you can't find out what happens for another couple of days. It sucks._

_Anyhoo, I want to thank Blue and her sister again for the awesome help and if anyone has any ideas for future chapters then please feel free to slip me a PM and I'll see if I can slide them in. :D_

_Please review and enjoy! (But please don't be too hateful... :D )_


	5. Chapter 5: A Truce

_Wow, it's been a while! Sorry for making y'all wait, but I also want to thank everyone who faved, alerted and commented! Your advice is greatly appreciated and welcomed in the future. :D_

_Okay, this chapter is a little bit different (and I emphasize __**little**__). When Kas's p.o.v. comes into the story, it's in first person unlike before. I figured it'd be easier to understand if it was like that so I changed it. The two groups do come together, but I'm still shaky on the decision to make Firuz a boy. I wanted there to be a girl in their group, but it would tear up the storyline. Then again, on the other hand, it would be a whole lot funnier if he was a girl….hmmm…Tear up or funnier?_

_What do y'all think? Any ideas?_

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_(__**Disclaimer**__: [I know this is late…] I do __NOT__ own Prince of Persia or their characters. Only Daria, Sama, and any new characters who show up are mine. The Aeon bracelet belongs to me, Blue Rowan, and her sister.)_

__

_

* * *

_

*Chapter 5*

"W-wait! Where...is he?" I snap, backing out of the cell slowly. My heart hammers the second the memory of his face flashes across my mind. His unearthly features had been stunning, but that's all I could really remember about him. The rest of my memory seemed to be taken up by a certain riddle he had told me.

"The assassin. Where is he?" Tamina turns to the guards and demands of them.

"I-I don't...know. He was in here just a second ago, Princess. When we heard you coming this way, we looked away from the cell, but it was only for a second." One guard stammers while the other nods his head shakily in agreement.

"They're telling the truth." A voice calls from nearby. I turn to the boy I had asked to cut my arm off. He's still chained to the wall; I know I had unlocked those chains. "I too saw him a second ago. That's when your lot came down the stairs and we all looked away. Now he's gone. Don't punish them."

His tone is calm yet defensive towards the guards, taking me by surprise. The look in his eyes is different from the boy I had seen not too long ago.

Tamina glances over at the empty cell where the assassin had been and then turns back to her guards. "You two go take a much needed rest. I will handle the remaining captive."

"But Princess-!"

Tamina raises a hand to cut them off with a gentle smile and motions towards the doorway. "You deserve it."

They slowly leave, glancing back hesitantly over their shoulders every once in a while before they finally disappear up the stairs.

Tamina enters the boy's cell, via the extra set of keys on the wall (odd how they hadn't used those last time when I had told him to slice off my right arm) and then stops a few feet in front of him.

"Why did you come here?" She asks. "Speak the truth and I may let you go free."

The boy stares up at her, a disbelieving look in his eyes, and then sighs as he drops his head. "I'm just a common traveler, miss. I was here on a… quirk, if you will."

"Is that so? Then the two young men I caught trying to sneak out of my palace were just…another set of random thieves?"

"Huh?" Sama and I glance at each other. Thieves had broken into the palace?

"Pardon?" He asks.

"Two young men, carrying this, were caught at the palace wall." Tamina pulls out a very familiar object from inside her sleeve. The dagger, filled with the sparkling sands of Time, rests in her hands. "Are you sure you know nothing?"

The boy gaps at the dagger in shock. "Arsalan and Firuz had nothing to do with this, I swear! I forced them into this! It's my fault so just punish me!" He demands, pulling himself to his feet, dragging the chains with him. Wow, he's faced with a threat to his friends and he turns to goo; hilarious. I roll my eyes.

I wouldn't ever be forced into that kind of situation. I know Sama would never be caught. She'd kill an entire army before she let that happen.

Amateurs.

"Arsalan and Firuz already told me that you hadn't meant to steal the dagger permanently. They told me you wished to use it for ransom against me. Your friends care for you deeply, Kas." Tamina smiles, returning the dagger into her sleeve.

I glance at the boy. So his name is Kas. Odd name.

Kas relaxes instantly, dropping back down to the ground. "So you won't punish them then?"

"I don't plan on punishing anyone." She answers, moving to release him from his chains. "But you must tell me all that you know about the dagger in return."

"What?" Sama and I snap in union.

"He basically robbed you of the very thing you live to defend and you're just going to let him go?" I add on.

Tamina turns to me with a suspicious look. "Daria, maybe you should tell me what you know first. You knew exactly which cell the assassin was placed in and you spoke to Sama as if you knew she had said things twice. What exactly has…happened in these last few moments?" She glances at the bracelet around my arm and so do I.

She's right. I had heard Sama say the same thing twice, but why was that? I lift my arm up to get a better look at the item in question. Had the voice I heard at the Sand Glass been telling the truth? This bracelet is Aeon, the power of Time?

"I think…" I start, still staring at the bracelet, "I went…back in time. I think."

Sama grabs my shoulder. "What are you saying, Daria? You don't actually believe in all that stuff do you?"

I can't turn my eyes away from the armlet. Of course I didn't believe it, but what am I supposed to believe now? Especially after seeing what happened before my arm had been cut off?

"I don't know what to believe Sama, but I do know that whatever this thing is, it had something to do with Time itself and this city. When I was down at the Sand Glass, I found the chip, but the second I touched it, I was thrown back into the air. I heard this voice talking to me, saying that it was the power of Time. It came from **inside** the Sand Glass."

"That's impossible. The Sand Glass is only full of the sands that the gods would have used to destroy this world. Nothing else was placed inside." Tamina takes hold of my arm and runs her fingers over the bracelet. "And yet this thing pulses with the same power that the dagger holds."

"The first time we came down here, I showed it to the assassin and he said something. It sounded like some kind of riddle."

"Repeat it." She tells me.

"Uh…I can't die and now neither can you. You are The Chosen, sworn into this task. Guard It, you shall, with your very life. In return, it gives you all. Until It is returned, this world's life is in danger. To the Scar of the Heavens you will go. The Aeon must be restored to the gods." I pause, trying to think back and make sure I got it all right, but then again I didn't really have to; it seemed to be encrypted into my thoughts as if by magic. "That's it. Then he turned into sand, I went to this guy, asked him to cut off my arm so I wouldn't have to deal with this mix up, then right before his blade came down, this thing flashed and I saw…"

Tamina looks up into my eyes then. "What did you see?"

"Everything. The whole scene seemed to be going in reverse until I was put back into my body and that's when Sama repeated her same sentence all over again when we had been coming down the stairs-."

I stop mid-word when I notice Sama's expression. "What?"

"You…asked him...to **cut off** your arm?" She spits out through her teeth.

"You would've too. I panicked." I grin at her.

"So, this armlet is this Aeon? I've never heard of it." Tamina mumbles to herself.

"Yeah, the voice and the assassin both said that word. Whether it's a name or a title, I don't know." I shrug.

She finally drops my arm. "I have, on the other hand, heard of this Scar of the Heavens. It's a place very far from here. It is said that the gods fought a great battle and during that battle, their power ripped the ground apart and the place became a permanent scar in the earth. We call it the Scar of the Heavens for that very reason."

"Weird." Sama and I chime.

"Weird as it may be, the place is still sacred and the road there is even more so. None who have taken it ever return, or so they say." She shrugs with a carefree smile, walking away from our horror-struck faces. No one?

"Kas, I will clear your crime if you will do one simple task."

The boy backs a step away when she turns to him suddenly. "What…exactly?"

"I want you to guard Daria on her journey."

* * *

"What?" I yell at the same time as the girl.

The so-called Princess glances back surprised at her friend. "You do not wish to have protection?"

"Okay, okay, hold on! One, I didn't **wish** for any of this! Not this..bracelet, not this stupid journey you're talking about, and certainly not protection from an amateur! Two, I'm not **going** anywhere!" She snaps, her whole tiny figure radiating anger. It's surprising; she hadn't shown nearly this much during their fight under the city floors. It doesn't flatter her.

"Daria, I don't think you have a choice in the matter. I can see this was forced on you, but the assassin said you had been chosen for this. If so then the gods know this as well. You have to return it. Just think of it this way, if you don't do this, then the whole world will be destroyed."

The girl blinks a couple of times. "Thanks, Tamina. That makes all this sooooo much better." She growls sarcastically.

"You know what I mean, Daria, but I have faith that you can do this. You will also have protection and help from Sama so you'll be fine."

"Why do you think I can do this? I'm just a common thief! I don't do…missions, or save the world, or return things! I definitely don't return things! That's breaking my very natural rule right there." She shoots back.

"Yeah, that's pretty much the same with me, but I'm not an amateur and I certainly don't risk my life for just any random person." I add to her sentence, grinning at her.

"Whatever, child." She growls.

"Child?"

Her other friend, the dark skinned one, who scares the daylights out of me, steps forward and touches her shoulder. "Drop it, Daria. We owe this to Tamina and Dastan. Do you want them to die? I don't."

Finally, someone shows some maturity.

The girl closes her eyes, rubs her forehead, and takes a deep breath. At first I think she's going to hold her breath forever because I don't hear the breath return, but then she speaks in a rushed tone.

"Fine! But I better be getting paid for this. That and Dastan has to stay here."

"No way!" A man who hadn't spoken a word in all of this steps in. He apparently has just come back into the room from upstairs somewhere, most likely talking to the guards, and he doesn't look happy with the suggestion. "You can't do this on your own."

"Yeah, but someone needs to stay here and make sure no one decides to come after Tamina again like that last assassin." She glances over her shoulder at the empty cell that had not long ago been occupied and I swear I can see an expression cross her face. Fear? Sadness?

Nah.

"She's right Dastan." The dark skinned girl agrees. "Another could come and we don't want to lose our friends. Maybe calling those brothers of yours would be a good thing too."

"They will be here soon. My father wishes to visit us with them for the wedding." Dastan shakes his head.

"Do you think telling them what happened would be a good idea?" The Daria girl asks.

"No, but we don't have too. We'll tell them that the event has been postponed until you return."

"What? We don't know how long this could take! Don't do that."

"But we want you there too."

"But you can always throw another one when we come back."

"But-."

The dark skinned girl, pulls out two deathly looking throwing knives from nowhere and bares them to the air, shutting the two bickering children up. "We will try to make it back as soon as possible, but if we don't return in a week then you must promise that you'll carry on with the wedding without us." She ends the argument.

Dastan is about to reply, but the Princess covers his mouth. "Deal."

Right before my eyes, without giving me a chance to speak my side, they make the plans for the journey.

A week?

Arsalan is going to have my head.

* * *

"Daria, would you stop fidgeting. You can't stay still for one minute can you?" Sama whispers beside me as we stand in the hallway outside the room. Tamina had taken the Kas boy inside with Dastan and then come out a few seconds later with him.

"Not after all this, no. I don't like it. It's…off." I whisper back, chewing on my bottom lip.

"Everything feels off to you."

"And aren't my gut feelings usually right?"

Sama raises her eyebrows in agreement.

"Alright, then. It feels off."

From inside the room I can hear people moving around and whispering, but I fight back the urge to go press me ear against it and eavesdrop. He's planning something. I know it. His eyes are too shifty for my taste.

My toe taps a little faster on the floor behind me in response.

Sama glances down at it and rolls her eyes. She can be so annoying sometimes.

Finally, after waiting forever, the door opens and three boys walk out. Wait, where'd the other two come from? My foot freezes to a halt.

"Daria, Sama, this is Arsalan and Firuz. They're friends of Kas." Tamina walks up to introduce them. "Boys, this is Sama and Daria."

They stare back at us and we stare back at them. Sama is the only one who takes to the situation with ease.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." She pushes up off the wall and holds out her hand. The two new boys take a step back in response.

I muffle my giggle.

Apparently these guys have never run across a Ngbaka before. Funny.

"Daria, don't be rude. Say hi." Sama waves to me, trying to get me to move. She tries too hard.

I don't budge. "Hi."

"Daria." Sama puts her hands on her hips and gives me a look.

Sighing in defeat, I slowly push myself off the wall and take a sluggish step towards them, holding out my hand and putting on the fakest smile I can pull off. "Hi, I'm Daria." I say a bit louder.

The biggest boy, the oldest probably, smiles warily, glancing once more at Sama, before reaching out to take my hand; his palm is huge. "Hello, it's nice to meet you…both."

Sama smiles. She's used to people being hesitant around her at first, but we both know how that usually ends. They end up stuck to her like glue. She's really a nice person to be around when you get to know her.

I glance from the young man's face and then over to Sama and we share a knowing look.

"My name is Arsalan and this is Firuz." He releases my hand and motions to the smaller young man next to him. He's skinny, but I can see a look of maturity far beyond even Sama's. He has a quiet nature about him, I can tell, because he just gives me a gentle smile and nods to me and Sama. I'm going to get along good with him.

"And, I guess you've already met-?"

"Yeah." I cut Arsalan off before he can introduce the immature one. "We met in his **cell**." I emphasize the word, knowing it will annoy him, but Sama elbows me in the ribs.

"Yes, we met and we're glad to meet you too." She smiles.

The boy returns her smile, taking her hand and kissing it. My eyes bolt open in shock.

"It was my honor, miss. I owe you my thanks for gifting me with your presence."

I roll my eyes, but Sama covers her mouth as she laughs.

"You'll have to excuse him. He's nothing, but a flirt." Firuz finally speaks for the first time and I get to hear his voice. He sounds so much older than he looks! His dark tan skin is even darker than the other two and his dark brown hair is pulled back from his almost child-like face. It's hard to believe that this young man is a friend of Kas.

Kas drops Sama's hand, finally, and grins at his friend. "Hey, it's polite." He shrugs.

"In your book it is." Arsalan crosses his muscular arms and shakes his head with a smile.

Tamina coughs to get our attention and we turn to her. "I will make sure supplies are gathered for you, but right now we must find you mounts for your journey."

"Got them." Sama and I smile. We had taken our horses and hidden them in a small grove of trees outside the city walls. Don't get the wrong idea about us; we're not abusive to animals. We made sure that there was water and plenty of grass for them to nibble on. Besides its only been two days.

I glance out a nearby window and stare out into the darkness.

And it's about to be three.

"Very well. Dastan will take you down to the stables while I see to your supplies." Tamina touches her soon-to-be-husband's shoulder and then walks away.

Dastan smiles after her. "Alright, then, let's get you to the stables. Leaving tonight will be the best thing. I suggest traveling by night, not only because it's cooler, but also-."

"Because it's safer from people who might want to kill us. Yeah, we kinda know that, Dastan." I grin and swing my arm, punching him lightly on his shoulder.

He glares at me but eventually that glare turns into a grin too and he rolls his eyes.

Sama sighs, shaking her head. "I give up on you two."

* * *

"These here are faster, but they don't stand up against heat very well, so I recommend taking those two over there. They may be smaller, but they have the speed and the strength to get you far. If anything else, you can barter them off for camels; that would be your best bet." Dastan points.

Camels. Ugh! I never did like riding them, but Dastan is right. They're better made for the desert, though they're not as fast as horses.

"Can we have the smaller ones then?"

"Of course." Dastan nods to Firuz.

The smaller young man walks up to the smallest and starts to whisper to the animal, swinging a saddle over its back.

Arsalan points to a black horse that Dastan had pointed to a the beginning. "You said these were fast?"

"Yes, but not as tough as these."

"Well, I'll have to take my chances because I don't think those smaller ones can bear my weight. I am taller than them." He smiles, pointing to his buddies.

I look over at the other two boys from my place by the stable door. Firuz is about my height, maybe a tab bit taller, Kas was a little less than a head taller than me, but Arsalan is the tallest still. He's a good two inches taller than Kas. I wonder where he's from…

"Good thing we have our horses too. We can help carry some of their weight in supplies." Sama whispers.

"Excuse me?"

"Daria, stop. You know we live off of our saddle bags and that's not a lot. We spend most of our time in the desert so we've learned to travel light. They don't seem to do that. They're probably used to living in the cities and towns that they come across instead of traveling straight through the desert like us."

"Like I said, amateurs." I repeat.

She sighs.

Two stable hands come over to tie on the saddles and help the group onto their mounts and that's when Tamina walks in with three other women carrying bags and sacks. She hands a smaller sack to us, about the size of my out-stretched hand, and then carries the other four to the horses the young men sit on.

"Four bags? That's it?" Kas complement.

Sama and I share a quick look.

"It's better to travel light. The horses move quicker that way. Daria you will leave out the tunnel near the court yard. You'll have to stay quiet until you're out of the city, but once you're there then you're free to move as you wish. I suggests heading to the west first for a few miles and then use the map; there have been sightings of robbers to the north of here." Tamina tells me, handing me a folded up sheet of paper. "This is the only map that shows the way to the Scar of the Heavens. The actual site isn't on here, but it will get you to a town near there called Alayra. It's a secret town that is inhabited by others who share our secret. They guard the way to the Scar, so they will help you."

I nod and she gives Sama and I tight hugs before speaking to the three others of our new group.

"You will need Daria and Sama's experience in the desert. They have traveled it much more than I have, so their knowledge will help you. Please return safely and take care of each other."

The three young men on horseback nod slowly in understanding, but I can see their hesitation in their expressions too.

As Arsalan rides the horse up to me, he holds out his hand and I take it, allowing him to pull me up onto the animal behind him. I pull my hood up around my face as we move out into the night.

"Good luck." Tamina and Dastan whisper to us; all of us.

We ride off with two other guards on horses leading us out through a long tunnel towards the western gate. They both ride black horses and where masks over their faces to keep the sandy wind out of their mouths; right about now I wish I had mine on.

Sama has climbed on behind Firuz and they're alongside us, but Kas rides ahead behind the two guards.

The tunnel suddenly opens up and the moon lit sky above pours down on us. Tall walls are built up on each side of us as if we're riding in a gutter and as I look up I can see the tops of huts and stands pass by as we ride. I never knew this was here.

The guards come to a halt and so do we. One turns towards us. "There is a ramp just up ahead. Take it then turn to your right. You can head straight out the western gate. It has been left open for you, but once you're out it will shut behind you. There's no turning back."

"Wow everyone likes to be so positive in this town. It's amazing." I whisper under my breath sarcastically.

I can hear Arsalan chuckle in front of me.

"Thank you." Sama tells them before Kas starts to ride away, leading the rest of the horses up the nearby ramp ahead. We come to a stop in the street, pausing for only a second, as the tall massive doors to the western gate quietly creak open enough to allow the horses to run through and out into the night.

And so our journey begins…

* * *

_Cheesy ending..._

_Whew! It really has been a while. I nearly got writers block half-way through the chapter and that really would've sucked._

_Again, thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted, and commented! I welcome more advice._

_:D_

_Please review and enjoy! (But please don't be too hateful... :D )_


	6. Chapter 6: Sand

_Okay, this chapter is slightly boring (it's kinda sad when the actual author says that), but I tried to make it as interesting as I could._

_Most of it is just getting to know the characters and their back grounds a little more because I figured I should go ahead and get that out of the way now so I won't have to deal with it later on. Lol_

_I'm still deciding on whether to make Firuz as a girl or boy, so if any of you would like to give your choice then you can. I can't seem to choose, so I'll leave it up to you. If no choices are made then Firuz will have to stay a guy._

_Also, in this chapter, we get a good look at who the bad guy is! Yay! I wasn't going to have one seeing as the Aeon was going to be causing all sorts of Hades for Daria and everyone, but then I thought 'It needs more torture than that!' So, new bad-guy here we come!_

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_(__**Disclaimer**__: [I know this is late…] I do __NOT__ own Prince of Persia or their characters. Only Daria, Sama, and any new characters who show up are mine. The Aeon bracelet belongs to me, Blue Rowan, and her sister. The storyline also belongs to me.)_

_

* * *

_

*Chapter 6*

'Someone kill me now!' I scream in my mind. It's only been an entire morning and already they're complaining.

It's too hot! Can we stop for water? I'm tired! Let's take a break.

Kill. Me. Now.

Sama doesn't seem to be minding it much, but I can tell it's picking at her. Every so often she'll take a deep measured breath, but that's it. Ngbaka have all the patience; why do they never share?

Someone sucks in air behind me. Here it comes again…

"Can we stop here?"

Grr!

"No, we cannot stop here." I spit out my words, trying not to sound too annoyed. Arsalan is the worst of them all. Kas is a close second. I've only heard Firuz say something once, but he shut up after that. I'll have to thank him later.

"What she means to say is that, there's a spring on the north side of the town up ahead. We can rest there for a few minutes." Sama calls back to them.

'The first day is always the worst. It'll get easier.' I chant to myself.

"Are you sure?"

'Or harder.' My shoulders drop.

"Yes. You'll be able to see it in a minute once we're over this hill." I answer for my friend, taking a deep breath of my own.

"Yep!" She adds with enthusiasm; just one more thing she never shares.

As our horses trudge up the sandy hill, we come into sight of a small trading town. We've been traveling west just like Tamina had told us, but from here I think it will be safe to switch direction. I just don't know which direction exactly; I haven't been able to look at the map she gave me since we left.

She had said this was the only map leading to the Scar. I'll have to keep it safe so I can return it to her. If I don't she'll have my head for sure.

"Danlar." I state, looking over the familiar town. "They make the best fabric for miles, if you don't count the mountain city of Hoat." I pause, remembering something. "Maybe I should trade back the rug I stole a few weeks ago."

Sama breaks out into hysteria. "Yeah, that'll show them how bad their security is."

I join in her laughter as I kick my horse forward. With any luck I can get another.

We circle wide around the town and vanish into the small oasis near it. The sand kicks up around my feet as I hit the ground and look around. We had stopped the horses here last time; it's a perfect hiding place. The trees aren't all that thick, but the rocky terrain around us is enough cover for a couple of horses. I lead mine forward to the edge of the water and she lowers her nose under the cool surface. The other horses follow her, leaving us to fill our containers.

"So where to after this?" Sama asks.

"Ugh, can we not talk about moving right now? My legs are killing me." Kas sighs, dropping to the ground next to the pool.

"From doing what? Sitting?" I mumble. Sama nudges me. "What?"

"You know what Tamina said. They're not used to the desert like us. Give them some time."

I pull out the map and lay it out flat across a rock. It's bigger than I thought it was.

The drawing is a little sketchy, but readable so I'm not complaining. Mountainous are mostly to our north, although they're nothing like the ones to our south, if only the map would show them, and sadly the Scar is to our north-east. We basically came this far west for nothing. According to the map, the angle of our travel line will take us right back across the part of the north the Tamina warned us about. Well, I guess we can sneak past the robbers and hope for the best. The biggest thing I'm worried about is this "Divide" word written heavily across the corner of the page. It's just north of the robbers, but far on the other side of the mountains. We won't have to worry about it for a while, but it's a good idea to start thinking of ways around it.

"What's this here, you think?" Sama points to the word in question.

"Probably just a canyon or something like it. It shouldn't be too hard to cross." I shrug.

She nods, content with the answer and then runs her finger farther east across the map. "This here is where the secret village is. We'll have to go through the mountains, but I suggest just heading straight through them instead of trying to zig zag. It will be quicker that way."

"Yeah." I agree, trying to find an area where the mountains are the thinnest. A curvy line cuts through a small area just east of the Divide and I point to it. "This looks promising. Copperhead Pass."

"Heck, no. That place is crawling with snakes and thieves."

"Good, we'll fit right in." I grin.

"I don't think we should take it. I've heard rumors and-."

"And that's all they are. You know how those things go: someone trips on a rock someplace and they come back screaming that the area's haunted. You shouldn't believe everything you hear, Sama." I tell her rolling up the map. "Okay, so we head north from here, pass up the robbers that Tamina warned us about, then head east a couple of miles, pass through Sama's 'haunted Pass' and then head for the Divide. I like the plan."

"It sounds longer than it needs to be." Kas quickly adds after I finish.

"Excuse me?" My hands drop.

"Well, we really don't have to head straight north. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Ever heard that?" He stands up and holds out his hand, motioning for the map.

I don't move, but Sama reaches over and snatches it out of my grasp and hands it to him. He rolls it back out.

"All we have to do is travel directly north east and go around the outskirts of the robber's area when we get to it. Not only will it save us time, but it will be easier on the horses." He runs his finger across the map to explain.

"Or on you." I roll my eyes.

"I'm just thinking of you." He stands up and glares at me. "I'm sure you want that bracelet off as soon as possible, right?"

I glare back and snatch the map away from him, stuffing it back into my saddle bag on my horse. "Yes, but I also don't want anyone getting hurt and if taking the long way keeps that from happening then I'm willing to give it a shot."

"But no one's going to get hurt, so there's no reason to waste our time."

"It's better to waste time than be killed because someone can't stand the heat."

"Well, if we went straight through then we wouldn't have to worry about the heat and no one would get hurt if we just went around the robber's territory."

Our argument goes on for a short time before something whizzes by right between our noses that have come close because we both stand on our toes to yell at the other. Our eyes widen and we jerk apart, Kas grabbing his nose to see if it's missing and me glancing around to see what it was.

Not far away, a throwing knife stabs into a tree.

I turn to Sama and smile weakly. "Sorry."

"I tolerated you and Dastan, but I am NOT going to tolerate it every day. Both of you shut up and give me the map."

I pull the map out of his grip, how he got it out of my saddle bag without me seeing is beyond me, and hand it to her quickly. Her face smoothes over and becomes calm once more. She slips the map carefully into her saddle bag.

"Now, we need to decide here and now. Are we traveling at night and some in the morning or some in the afternoon and then well into the night?"

"Afternoon." Arsalan and Firuz quickly throw out their votes into the conversation.

"It's settled then."

"Wait what about my vote?" I point to myself.

"Children don't get to vote." She waves off the conversation before anything else can be said.

Joy.

"Well then, everyone get some shut eye now. We leave in a few hours." Sama orders.

"I'll take first watch." I suggest.

"We're all going to die."

I spin around to snap something at Kas, but Sama quickly shuts him up with a gentle slap to the back of his head.

"Go to sleep, child."

It's odd to hear her say that because I know she's younger than him, but I don't say this out loud. I don't want to die just yet.

Crawling up onto the highest rock I can find, I sit down on top of it, crossing my legs.

The desert around us is calm and peaceful, but for how long?

* * *

Tamina finally disappears into her quarters, but not before saying one last order to the head of the military. "Hadi, please make sure the guards are on close watch for the next week. I want to know exactly when Daria and the group returns."

"Of course, Princess." Hadi bows low before walking calmly down the hall. He turns around a corner and enters a lone, quiet room, not yet lit for guests. He closes the door behind him and walks up to the dark pool of water in the center of the room.

He stares down at the dark water, not bothering to look up as the shadows suddenly move behind him. A dark figure, dressed in all black slithers from the darkness.

"You called?" A deep smooth and deadly voice asks from the figure.

"Did you locate the assassin?"

"He has disappeared. There was nothing, but sand in his cell."

"Then the girl indeed has it."

The figure doesn't respond.

"Find her. Take it. Bring it back to me, even if you have to cut off her arm."

The figure smiles wickedly, sliding back into the shadows and disappearing. "As you wish."

* * *

I groan, giving up the map. Sama seizes it back from me and glares.

"I cannot believe you stole from ME."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I mumble, crawling up onto my red-brown horse. She tosses her mane restlessly, she's not used to remaining still; a habit she no doubt picked up from me.

Sama and the others do the same and we slip out of the oasis with the rising shadows as our cover. The sun is setting now, but it's not low enough that we can't see. This time of day has always been my favorite.

"We should reach the ruins of D'rice by morning, so let's hurry. We can stop only once so let's try to go as far as we can."

We kick the horses into a run as we finally find the road and we follow it north-east; the setting sun warming our backs.

The ride is mostly quiet while the horses are running, but the rest of the time while they walk, we keep up the conversation. With nothing to do, things can get boring really quickly. That's when the mind really starts to shut down.

"So, you boys are thieves too?" Sama asks after Arsalan tells about how they all met.

"Yeah, but we stay mostly in cities around the area and circle through them every once in a while. We've never been this far out in the desert."

"Well, I have." Firuz stops him. "I was born in the desert while my parents were traveling to Susa."

"Wow, that far out?" Sama gasps.

"Well, yeah, my family had the money to travel." He smiles warmly.

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You were rich? How can someone want to go from rich to being a thief?" I asks, slowing my horse down so that I can ride beside him.

"I got tired of the rich life. Every day was the same thing over and over again. I got tired of it, so I left a note and ran." Firuz chuckles. "I saw them once, when I was passing through again about two years ago, but I didn't greet them. That's when I met Kas and Arsalan. They were surrounded in the streets by some angry shop owners, so I tossed a bead or two and got them out."

"Hold on, what's a bead?" Sama asks, finally giving in to her curiosity and slowing down so that she's on his other side.

Firuz reaches into a pouch at his side and pulls out a small, round, black bead. It looks like polished iron.

"This is a bead. Later I'll show you what it can do."

"Why not now?"

"I don't think you want to be thrown off your horse. These can be pretty loud." He grins.

Behind us, Kas and Arsalan chuckle.

I glance back to see what's up, but they cough and turn their gazes away. What do they know?

Around midnight we finally stop, I'm surprised the three lasted this long, and by then I know plenty about Arsalan and Firuz. I could call them acquaintances now if I wanted to. Maybe they'll be friends one day.

Sama pulls off the blanket tied to her saddle and lays it out across the ground to sit on. I bring her the water bottle as I pop the top open on my own.

"So how long have you two known each other?" Firuz asks, sitting across from us.

"I found Sama about two years ago out in the desert." I nudge my friend. "Poor girl was scared half to death."

"Who wouldn't be? Especially when a stranger comes wondering up with all these weapons on her."

"Yeah? Well, at least I didn't cling to your arm for an entire month like a lost fox cub." I chuckle.

"Shut up!" she pushes me over with a smile. "The only reason I did that was because you were the only person I had seen in days and I didn't want to be left out in the desert any longer."

"Why were you out there in the first place?" Arsalan asks.

"My people have…traditions. When a Ngbaka child learns all they can, the parents let them go."

"Like pets." I add because I know she won't.

"Daria."

"It's the truth and you know it."

Sama sighs.

"Ha, I win."

"What about you?" Kas asks, his serious voice knocking the carefree mood off balance.

I turn my eyes to him, the happy expression cleared off my face. No one has ever dared to ask me about my past before; the kid's got guts.

I take a deep breath and tell him the truth…or what I could of it. "I'm just a normal thief who ran away from tradition and started my own life. The end."

I can feel Sama glance at my face, but I don't look at her. She knows that I don't like talking about my family life.

Don't get me wrong, I love my family, but they didn't waste any time throwing me out into the world when I said I wanted something better than what they offered. They did whatever their payers wanted them to do. Sure it brought in the money, but at what cost? Our women were paid to sleep with the enemies to find out information. Our men were put on the front lines of war armies so that their own soldiers had less chance of dying. The children suffered at the hands of sickness because people paid them to sneak into unknown places and spy on the opponent.

Our payers didn't care about us. They just wanted to get the upper hand on their enemies and we were willing to do anything so that we could support our home and family.

Don't think that we were a poor people. We were just the opposite. We lived and thrived in harmony with each other and without a care in the world, but things got tough the longer we went without work because the money stopped coming in.

Twelve years I lived in that sad world; wrapped in fear of what I would have to do or how far I would have to go to help my people. I didn't want it…so I left.

Simple as that. No harm done. A clean cut.

"Daria?" Sama shakes my shoulder.

"Huh?" Great I zoned out again.

She points back over to Kas and he continues. "I asked if you had family still."

I nod. "Yeah, of course I do. I got two younger sisters and both of my parents. They live…to the north of here actually."

"Cool! Let's-."

"No, Arsalan, we're not going to take a quick vacation just to go visit family." Kas grins at him.

"Darn." Arsalan falls back again, letting his shoulders droop.

"Hey, after this is all over, I'll think about taking you for a visit, okay?"

Arsalan's face lights up again, but Sama nudges me. "I thought outsiders were strictly forbidden?"

"Yeah, they are, but most of those people still owe me money. Trust me they'll let us in." I smile slyly.

"Oh, boy." She sighs.

"Kas, it's your turn." Firuz punches his shoulder. "We told our stories."

Kas groans, but crosses his legs and leans over on his knees. "Alright."

* * *

I take a deep breath again before letting it out. Sure I had a story, but does that really mean I have to tell it. It's really no different from anyone else's. Sama has a more interesting story than me.

"Come on." Arsalan beckons.

"Okay! I was born into an average family, two brothers and one sister, and my father died when I was five. My mom is…somewhere, I don't really know anymore. She stopped contacting me a while back."

"What about your siblings?" Sama inquires.

"My brothers, the last time I checked, joined the army. I heard from my younger brother about a year ago, but my older one never contacted me again either. My sister on the other hand, married an idiot who turned out to be a slave driver and she ran away. The only problem is, now she's broke and she does all she can to get money."

"Did she have a child by the looser?" Daria finally speaks.

"No, but he keeps looking for her apparently, so she has to stay on the move a lot."

"That's sad." The dark-skinned Ngbaka whispers, rubbing her arms.

"She's happy, I guess. I run into her from time to time and every encounter she seems a little bit more happy. I know she's stressed underneath it all from having to spend her life running, but at least she doesn't have to endure being beaten every day." I shrug.

"Well, if we ever see her, then I'll make sure to hide her real good, so she can actually have a life instead of a game of seek and find. It's sickening what guys do now a days." Sama crosses her arms and glares at the sand in front of her.

"Thanks, Sama." I smile.

She returns my smile. She really is a nice girl, even though she's a Ngbaka. I heard the Ngbaka can cut a head clean off with a single dagger, but I've never seen it done before.

"Okay, we need to head out. We only got a few hours before sunrise." Daria stands up and stares off at the distance. How does she know that's east?

We clean up and mount the horses, making sure our saddle bags are secured good and tight before heading off again down the road. What really catches me off guard is that not an hour later, we leave that road and head off into the uninhabited sand world beyond.

"Are you sure we're supposed to leave the road?" I call up to Daria.

"You said you wanted to head in a straight line, so we are."

"Daria!"

"What? He did say that. You said I should be nicer, so I am. We'll go with his decision first, but the next one is mine." She chuckles.

Sama doesn't respond, but her face does go into straight up shock, as does mine. When has she ever listened to anyone, but Sama?

* * *

As the sun begins to rise, I can feel the sand do the same. I jerk my horse to a sudden stop, just like Sama. She can feel it too.

"What's up?" Firuz asks as they stop too.

I don't answer. I let my eyes travel the horizon of the sand dunes beyond, listening, waiting. Something's stirring and I know just what it is. The only real problem is trying to decipher which direction it's coming from. It's a ways off, but I know it's coming in our direction.

I turn my horses back around and look over the boys. They don't spend much time out here, so I highly doubt they're prepared.

"Let's get to the ruins quickly. They shouldn't be too far and we'll have to push the horses a little bit, but we can't waste any time." I tell Sama.

She nods in agreement, before addressing them. "Okay, put the horses into a run and stay as close to us as you can."

"What's up?" Firuz asks again.

"It's nothing bad." I smile at him. He seems to take that, but I can still see hesitation there on his face. I'll have to make do with that.

We spin our horses around and take off towards the sun, pushing the horses hard up the incline of the dune and down the other side. I can feel the wind start to change directions.

Once over three smaller sand dunes, we come over the top and stare down at the ruins of a small temple surrounded by cracked and falling statues. Time has hit this place hard.

"Get inside." I call back over my shoulder, kicking my horse back into a run again. She breathes heavily as she races at her fast pace, leading the group down into the ruins and twisting around piles of rubble that used to be beautiful archways and pillars.

This temple used to be popular before the war nearly fifty years ago.

I hop down off the animal's back as we near the door and grab her reins. Sama follows my actions, instructing the boys to do the same. "You're going to have to lead them the rest of the way from here."

By now I have pulled my mount quickly into the front archway of the temple and into the safety of the main room. It's oval shaped with cracks in the walls and ceiling, but it's enough cover for now. I'd pull her down the stairs and into the next room, but the hallway is way too narrow; I know she wouldn't allow herself to be pulled down there even if I offered her grain and carrots for the next week.

Content on this space, I tie her up to the small fountain in the center, sadly emptied of water, and reach into a saddle bag. I pull out a long strip of cloth and carefully wrap it over her eyes. She neighs in objection, but allows me to finish.

By this time, Sama is leading the others and their horses into the front room and they all tie them up to the fountain too.

Sama pulls out her horse's blindfold and wraps it around her mount's eyes as well.

"Wait, those are…holy crap is there a sand storm coming?" Arsalan exclaims.

"Yeah, but it's not a heavy one. It should blow out of here in an hour or so." I answer calmly.

Arsalan pats his horse, the animal fidgets nervously as it senses the approaching storm. He rubs her nose gently.

"What about our horses? Don't they need blind folds?" Kas points out.

"Yeah, I'm getting to that." I pull off my cloak and throw it over my horses back prior to reaching into another one of my saddle bags. I have a total of three.

Sama helps me and before long we have our spare cloth shredded up and covering the eyes of the remaining horses.

"Okay, let's get below." Sama motions for them to follow her.

"Will the hoses be fine?" Firuz glances back over his shoulder as he says this. "I don't want Myst to go blind."

"Myst?" Sama stops at the top of the stairs leading down.

"I named my horse, yes."

"Wow, I never thought of naming them." I turn around to look at mine. She's red-brown with a dark brown mane and tail. What kind of name could I give her?

I stole her from a high ranking military officer while he had been sleeping right next to it. The poor guy didn't even break his snores as I rode away.

"Pilfer."

"Huh?" Come Sama's response.

"Pilfer. Let's see…Pilfer Blade." I fix.

"Blade?" Kas adds.

"Yeah," I pull the knife out from around my ankle, baring it out for him to see, and grin. "The guy I stole her from; I took his knife too."

Sama's laughter fills the halls and soon everyone joins her as we head down the stairs.

The next room is square, cabinets and chests lining the walls around us. It's whole at least, if you don't mind crickets. They chirp here and there around the room.

"Man, it's noisy down here." Kas covers his ears and looking around for the hidden bugs.

"They'll quiet down in a minute. They can sense the storm coming and are speaking their wills out for their friends to hear in case they don't survive." I tell him, dropping my cape onto a nearby chest.

"What?" Arsalan spins around to stare at me with a horrified look. I freeze.

"I was kidding." I answer, holding my hands out in case he decided to faint.

Relief washes across his face and he collapses next to the wall.

"You have to be easy with him. He's a very nervous person." Firuz taps my shoulder.

"Gotcha." I nod, looking over the muscular boy who sits on the ground, breathing in relief. I glance at Sama who shrugs and stares at him too.

Above us, I can hear the wind shift again and I quickly head up the stairs and take a few steps out into the open. I glance around in all directions until I spot it. It comes from the south-east; perfect. The temple entrance points to the west; the sand won't be too troublesome for the horses.

I head back in and back down the stairs. "Who here's ever been in a sand storm?"

Sama and Firuz both raise their hands. I glance between Kas and Arsalan. That explains a lot; Arsalan is a nervous wreck and Kas can't stand the heat. I shrug.

"Well you're about to be in one now." I open the top on my water bottle and take a long swig and then close it. "Keep all water covered up and put away. If any sand gets into it, then it won't be drinkable any longer."

The second I finish my sentence, everyone rips out their bottles and quickly takes a gulp before they close them. We'd be here for a while.

"Are we going to just stay here for the day or move on a little more?"

"I don't know yet. Let's just see what this storm does first." I answer Sama.

She nods and goes to sit down on a chest and the second I hit the floor, the building trembles as the storm hits.

I start to wonder then if this building will hold up. 'It is pretty old…' I think.

The second the thought crosses my mind, a familiar heat tears through my arm and my joint reaction is to grab my arm. The bracelet is glowing again.

This time, when I'm torn out of my body, I'm pushed out of the building entirely. I float above it, the sand storm blowing around my in a seriously fast motion. It's like it's being played out before my eyes because the storm suddenly blows by and the sun moves quickly across the sky, baring its heat on the ground below, although I feel nothing. I don't even hear anything.

The sun and the day play out quickly before me and I watch as it sets. I turn my attention back towards the temple. It's held up through the storm.

The moon enters the sky then and I watch as everything starts to slow down back to normal speed. A group exits the building, laughing about something, with horses in tow.

"Okay, what?'

The scene disappears in a flash and I can feel myself being thrust back down towards the ground.

I fall over and hit the floor hard.

"OW!" I yell.

"Did you zone out again, Daria?" Sama chuckles from nearby.

I sit up, taking the room in. The building still trembles from the sand storm above.

What just happened? Did I just see what **will** happen?

"Did you-?" I hold up my arm and point to the bracelet. Sama leans up off the wall, picking up on my mood.

"Did I what? What happened?"

"I don't know. One minute, I'm here, the next, I'm in the air over the building, watching everything happen in fast-forward motion." I grab my head and close my eyes, trying to make sense of what just happened. My thoughts are spinning through my head way too fast.

Sama jumps up and falls to her knees in front of me. Firuz joins her, standing by her side. "What did you see?"

"The day going by, night falling, and then all of us walking out, laughing our heads off." I answer as I rub my forhead, hoping it will slow the headache that is trying to work its way into my brain. "I know one thing at least."

"What?"

"The building holds up." I drop my hand and turn my eyes to hers.

"Thank you, gods!" Arsalan cries.

We all turn to look at him as he falls over onto the ground. He glares at us when we start to laugh.

Later on, with the sand storm still raging above us, I lay out on my back with everyone else sleeping around me. I twist and turn my arm, staring at the object as it gleams in the low light. I listen to the nearby horses neigh and kick at the ground uncomfortably.

The bracelet is supposed to be more powerful than the dagger. According to Tamina, the dagger can only go **back** into time. It I didn't know any better, I'd swear this thing had shown me the **future**.

If that's true, then I better learn how to control this thing soon. Tamina said the dagger could only be activated by pressing the button on the hilt, so maybe this one has an 'on' switch too.

I bring it closer to my face to get a closer look, observing all the little crystals of sand and each individual chain link. It doesn't look like it's melded to my skin, but I can tell that it is because as I run my fingers along the links they don't budge at all.

'That's a little freaky.' I think.

Around this second is when I notice it. Two of the crystals are empty of sand.

'Huh. Odd.'

As the day goes by, I get more and more familiar with the bracelet until finally I can't stand sitting still any longer. I climb quietly to my feet and slip up the stairs.

The horses neigh, hearing me enter, as I walk up to Pilfer, my newly named horse.

"What do ya think, girl? You like the name Pifler?" I ask her quietly, brushing my fingers through her mane. She nudges me with her nose and pushes against me a little. "I'll take that as a yes then." I chuckle.

* * *

_Okay, I know what some of you are thinking and I just want to go ahead and put your minds at ease. The geography and city/town names in my story are fake. I'm too lazy to look any of them up and I just make them up as I go along…I think it's more fun that way. XDDD_

_Again, thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted, and commented! I welcome more advice._

_:D_

_Please review and enjoy! (But please don't be **too** hateful... :D )_


	7. Chapter 7: Dreams and Silk

_I didn't have any fun with this chapter, but I did try to make it interesting._

_I hope you all like it and respond to it because I could really use some help. I'm just making this all up as I go along pretty much, so…yeah._

_Also, the henchman is brought back in and we get to see what an awesome power he has! Though don't get me wrong, I don't encourage violence what so ever, but he's the only other one that I really get to torture besides Daria so I might as well let him have some fun._

_More will be explained about him later on in the story; he doesn't die anytime soon._

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_(__**Disclaimer**__: [I know this is late…] I do __NOT__ own Prince of Persia or their characters. Only Daria, Sama, and any new characters who show up are mine. The Aeon bracelet belongs to me, Blue Rowan, and her sister. The storyline also belongs to me.)_

_

* * *

_

*Chapter 7*

The sand storm inevitably comes to a stop and I take a measured step outside. The world is blown over with a fresh new layer of sand that has traveled from who knows where. The rubble around me is worn smooth from being in so many sand storms already, but now as I brush my hands along some of the stones and new sand sprinkles off to the ground. This sand isn't like the Time sand I had seen in the Sand Glass. This sand is normal, familiar, and warm. The other sand that had swirled around me had been sparkly and smooth, unlike any sand I have ever come across. It was almost like a fine powder.

A flash of movement catches my eye from the north and I quickly jerk my head around. My eyes scan the empty horizon. Great, I'm starting to see stuff now.

Whatever the dark flash was, it was gone. It was most likely just another traveler. We pass them from time to time. Especially after a storm. When one passes, people start coming out of hiding that you hadn't seen there before. It's a great way to meet new people, though.

I can't recall the number of people I've shared cover with in the last year. Performers, dancers, families, business people; there's no telling.

I take a deep breath, taking in the smell of new sand. There's still lingering sand particles in the air, but it's not enough to harm the lungs. You just shouldn't make a habit of it like I have.

"Daria?"

I glance over my shoulder as Arsalan comes up behind me. "It's over." I tell him.

Relief washes over him and he steps outside, looking around. "Wow, those storms do change things don't they? How do you keep from getting turned around?"

"Look up."

He follows my finger and looks up into the sky where thousands of stars are now just beginning to come out of hiding after a long day.

"Each one of those stars is a point. When you live out here like Sama and I, you learn how to use them. It's really easy once you get the hang of it." I explain.

"My mom used to say that the stars tell stories. Each constellation has a history behind it." He says, continuing to look up.

"She's right. Like that one there." I point off to the constellation I know all too well. "That one's called Draco. They say that a great beast of the sands became bored with torturing mankind, so he left this world and entered the heavens. Sadly though, he didn't know that the gods had been angry at him for causing mankind trouble, so they tied him to the sky so that he couldn't return and there he has stayed to this day. Some say that the sand storms that appear out of nowhere are his doing, but they never last that long because he's always stopped by the gods before he can make them too rough." I laugh.

"Good, they should stop him." He joins in on my laughter. "I've never heard that one before."

"Yeah, I used to tell that one to my youngest sister because sand storms scared her too."

"What're you guys up too?" Firuz joins us, following our glances at the sky. "They're just stars, you know?"

Arsalan and I share a look and then burst out laughing. He throws an arm over Firuz's shoulder and we head back inside.

Sama and Kas are untying the horses as we walk in and look up.

"Has the storm made you all insane or something?" Sama inquires.

Firuz looks from me to Arsalan to her and then shrugs.

"Yep!" We laugh at the same time.

Pretty soon our laughter has the rest of them chuckling out of control as we head out.

* * *

Night falls quickly as we cross along the tops of the sand dunes. I keep my eyes firm on the star that I have made my point and lead the others as our horses walk in a straight line. The air, cool and calm, tumbles around us, kicking up the sand playfully, but I ignore it. My attention is gone and my mind wonders. My body is on automatic right now, moving to lead the horse, but that's it. The rest of me thinks back on the map. Before Sama had taken it back, I had memorized it to an extent. If the robbers are the clan that I'm thinking of, then we've made a really bad choice in taking a straight shot to Copperhead Pass.

Sama and Arsalan are mumbling quietly behind me as we travel while Kas and Firuz are discussing something, but I can't hear any of them.

I shake my head, pulling my body out of hibernation and look around. The valleys in-between the hills are steep and empty, making shadows across the ground. The moon's light can't seem to reach those dark places, but I can see them just fine. I look around for any foot prints of travelers that have headed this way before us. There's nothing.

As we come down the other side, I spot something in the distance. Lights.

I pull Pilfer to a stop. "Sama."

"Yeah, I see it too." She comes to a stop beside me. "Are we going?"

"We might as well. It could be a small nomad village, but stay alert. We're getting closer to robber territory."

We carry on, heading straight for the lights and soon we come into view. I hop off Pilfer and skip over up the sand dune blocking our path. When I have a clear view of the lights, I stop.

Well, they're not robbers, but they're not nomads either. I never knew there was a town out here.

"Sama get the map out and mark this place on it. I think it's a settlement."

"Really?" She climbs up the sand behind me to look. "Wow, how long has this been here?"

"Not for very long, that's for sure. Come on." I skip back down, Sama hot on my heels, and we remount.

As we get closer to the village, I spot a young girl bouncing a small ball and slow down a bit. She looks up as we approach and gasps. I glance down to make sure none of my weapons are showing.

"Papa! Travelers!" She cries out in a small and sweet voice; she looks about six maybe.

From a nearby tent, a man exits and looks over towards his daughter before looking us over.

The child takes his hand as he joins her by his side.

"It's late, travelers. Have you been traveling long tonight?" He asks with a warm smile.

"Yes, since late this afternoon. What is this town called? I never knew it was here." I answer, smiling down at the girl.

"We settled here about half a year ago."

"Oh, well, that makes sense." Sama shrugs, drawing attention to herself.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the small girl gasp and shrink away behind her father, but he doesn't seem to notice it.

"Yes, you look like you could use a rest. We have many fires along the road if you'd like to take a break and rest your horses for a spell." He invites.

"That sounds perfect, thank you." I dismount, followed by the others, and take hold of Pilfer's reigns.

"Ari, can you take this nice ladies horse and lead them to the fire please?" The father asks, bending down.

Ari, the small child, takes a quick look up at her father, nods, and then turns back to stare at Sama. Geez, I know she looks scary, but it's not polite to stare.

Sama seems to catch up on this and reaches into one of her saddle bags, pulling out a small pouch. She squats down next to me and reaches into the bag. "Ari, do you like sweets?"

Ari seems to shrink father behind her father, but nods slowly.

"Then, here, I'm sure you'll like these." She pulls out a round ball with a white powder on top. So that's where all the sweet cakes went! I was wondering why they all had disappeared so fast at the almost-wedding.

Ari hesitantly leaves her father's side and approaches Sama, her eyes wary. My friend smiles warmly, being careful not to scare her, and hands her the cake. The child takes it and nibbles off a small bite. Her eyes pop open wide in surprise and then she quickly gobbles down the rest.

"Mmm! Thank you!" As if the child is a totally different person, she wraps her small arms around Sama's neck and embraces her.

Sama hugs her back, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around. Sama had once told me that she grew up as an only child, so I know how badly she has always wanted a little sibling. This is as close as she'll ever get.

Ari laughs as she's set back down. Taking Sama by one hand and then grabbing Pilfer's reigns, she leads us all down the road towards the many fires that line the roads.

I shake my head as I follow behind.

"Well that was impressive. Sama's really popular with kids isn't she?" Kas asks.

I slow down so that I walk beside him and shake my head again. "No, not many people are willing to trust her because she looks different. Kids are just easier for her to win over because they still have innocent ways of looking at the world."

"Ah. It sounds bad for her."

"Well, she never had siblings growing up, so these times are special to her." I smile as I stare off at my friend as she laughs at something the child says.

We take a long break, resting by the fire and just enjoying the night. Ari sits close to Sama and listens closely as she tells the child stories of her travels and discoveries. Sadly though, she had to leave out all of the good stories though; they're a little too graphic for a child her age.

"And that's when the mountain came barreling down and we barely made it out of the silver caverns alive!" Sama ends the story with a big dramatic ending. "Okay, little one, I think you've been up long enough. Off to bed with you now."

"What? But you didn't finish! What happened to Aron and Lani? Did they get out alive? Did they live happily ever after? Huh? Come on, Sama!" The little girl tugs on Sama's pants leg as she pushes the child off towards her house.

"Ari?" I call to her with a chuckle.

Sama and Ari come to a stop and the child pulls out to look around her.

"Aron and Lani are safe and well. They have been together for awhile now. If we run into them I'll tell them to come see you." I smile.

"You will? Yay, thank you!" Ari skips out of Sama's grasp and comes to give me a tight hug before running back to her family's hut.

"Nice, now we'll never be able to leave. Not that I'm complaining."

"We'll be fine. We have to leave here in a little bit anyway, so go ahead and leave her a message for her for when she wakes up. The boys and I will saddle the horses." I shoo her along and then turn to the boys in question.

"You boys ready?"

"Okay, how old are you exactly?" Kas asks, trying to cover up the annoyance in his voice.

"I just turned twenty about a month back."

He chuckles and stands up, coming to a halt in front of me right in my personal space. I'm about to move, but then I think against it; if I do then he'll laugh at me. I glare up at him, meeting his eyes.

"I'm two years older than you, so technically I'm not a boy to you. None of us are."

"Oh, I'm sorry, darlin'. Did I offend you? I was referring to the fact that compared to me, you're still an amateur and all amateurs to me are still kids." I pat him on his head with a grin and push around him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Arsalan and Firuz share a glance.

* * *

We headed out right when Sama returned. She had come back with a sack in her hands saying that the father had offered it to them for their journey since they took such good care of Ari for the short time they had stopped. I was tempted to tell her to take it back, but the second I thought about it my stomach growled its complaint. I snatched the bag, took a look inside, and then quickly told them 'let's go'.

Sama still glares at me even now.

"Are you going to share any of that?"

"I jusf god id! Howd on." I spit out around my mouthful of bread. I reach in for an orange and then pass it back to her. (Translation: "I just got it! Hold on.")

"You should really learn not to talk with your mouth full. It's rude."

"Bibe mi." I chuckle. (Translation: "Bite me.")

As we near the top of the hill, the rising sun meets us with a warm glow. It's been nearly five hours since we left Ari's settlement. It wasn't really classified as a town yet because it wasn't that big, but in a few years, who knows, it could be the next city.

Right now though, I can't help, but smile at the small town below us. Here we can sleep peacefully until night falls. I can also send word to Tamina and Dastan about the journey so far.

"Sama, how much money do we have?"

"A little less than what Tamina gave us. Why?" Sama answers, opening a bag she removes from her waist.

"We'll need to find a cheap place to stay tonight. I don't want to waste the money on places to sleep when it really needs to go towards buying supplies, okay?"

"Right." She nods to Arsalan. "We'll go look for a place to stay and you can get a good look around."

"What is this town?" Kas asks.

"Kamin. Nice little town actually, if you don't mind getting your pockets picked every five seconds." I smile.

"Great." He reaches down and stuffs his money bag deep under his shirt. Firuz crams his into his shoe.

We kick the horses forward and head down into the town. As we approach the front gate, I spot two guards; one on the right and the other on the left.

Perfect.

"Halt." I hear the left one say to the driver of the cart in front of us.

"I'm just bringing in cabbages, just like I do every week." The cart driver chuckles. I can hear something behind it and I blink.

Something catches my eye and I quickly locate the movement. A foot that had slipped pulls back up under the cart.

'Well, well, well. What have we got here?' I think, grinning.

I glance up slowly, making sure both guards are deep in concentration before slipping off my horse. Sama, flowing right along with my unspoken plan, quickly moves forward to block me out of sight, stopping her horse next to mine. I slip out and duck under the cart, climbing up into the hidden rafters under it. Gasps echo between two kids as I climb up between them.

Holding up a finger, I place it over my lips, signaling for them not to make a sound. They hesitantly nod.

The two guards move around the cart, I stare intently at their feet, getting ready to move or attack if they decide to look up under the cart. One guard pauses at the back, but continues on around to the front again.

"Alright, you're free to enter." They finally tell the cart driver.

As the cart moves forward, I hang down lower so that I can see out the back from underneath. Sure everything is upside-down, but that's the whole fun of it.

Sama is leading the horses forward and is almost through the gate when the guards stops her, both of them moving to the side as she approaches.

"Crap." I hiss. "See y'all later." I whisper, lowering my body just an inch above the moving ground before I let go. The cart rides away and I stand up fluidly as if I'd been walking behind the cart the whole time.

I skip around the back side of a shop and clamper up the nearest building so I can get to the top of the wall surrounding the village. It's not all that impressive, the one in Alamut is more useful.

I stare down into the scene.

Sama leads my horse by the reigns, with Firuz close behind her.

I squat low, keeping myself as hidden as possible.

"Pulling a loaded horse, miss? That's kind of odd." One guard says giving Pilfer a good glance.

"A lot of things are odd nowadays."

'Great, Sama. Just annoy them. That'll really get you in.' I shake my head, thinking.

"We found her in the desert about a mile out. I transferred some of my heavier saddle bags onto this one and brought her here. I figured I'd trade her. I need the money, ya know?" Sama smiles warmly. Her lies are almost professional.

"Really?" The next guard nods to his partner and they walk over to the other side of Pilfer.

'No, no, no, no, no! The map's on that side!' I hiss.

I glance behind Sama, hoping to grab the attention of one of the others so they can stop them, but I find Kas staring at me instead.

His hand is lowered off to the side and he rolls his thumb and index finger about a centimeter apart, as if he's holding a little object.

A light bulb goes off in my head. Bead!

I pull it out of my waist bag and hold it up in question. He nods and does a tossing motion with his hand.

I toss it? That's it?

I hold it out over the wall, but he shakes his head slowly, his eyes widening. He points off in the farther direction.

Okay, toss the bead _over there_, gotcha.

I flick my wrist and watch the small iron bead fly through the air and towards the ground about ten feet away from the gate.

It hits the ground and-

BANG!

I duck down in pure fright as the sound pierces my eardrums and it explodes on the ground.

What the heck was that?

I glance back over at the area, where smoke rises from the area the bead had hit, and at the same time the guards are scurrying over too.

"What was that?" One of them demands.

"I didn't see anything." The other shouts.

As they leave their posts, Sama and the others slip through the gate. I, on the other hand, am too busy staring wide-eyed at the smoke.

How fascinating! Firuz has somehow harnessed the power of fire.

"Daria, get down already." Kas's voice surprises me and I lose my footing. I slip but grab onto a flag pole, dangling above the back streets where they all stare up at me.

"Would you not do that please?" I hiss.

"Whoops, I'm sorry. Drop I'll catch you." He grins.

"Shut up and move!" I growl.

He throws up his hands and backs out of the way as I let myself fall towards the ground and land silently before him.

"I didn't mean to scare you." He laughs.

"There's a difference between scared and...surprised." I glare at him as I walk past, trying to catch my breath.

"Sure." He just laughs harder and I have to stop the heat from touching my face.

Later that morning, I lay back across the pillows that are scattered around the tent floor.

"A tent? Really? We couldn't just stay at the inn?" Sama mumbles to herself. "It was only a coin more."

"And that's a coin we didn't have. Shut it and go to sleep." I tell her, closing my eyes. The top of the tent is covered by a tarp so it will keep the sun from blazing in our eyes as it gets higher up.

Sleep comes all too easily to me this time. I haven't slept all that well the past couple of nights. I can't stand the fact that we're traveling with strangers for guards. No, wait, let me rephrase that: we're traveling with **amateurs** for guards.

It's really nerve racking.

Not long later, my dreams stir me awake, so I turn over. Not far off, somewhere near my feet, I can hear Sama softly breathing in slumber. Lucky.

The sand rustles from somewhere outside and my eyes pop open. I can faintly hear the tent door being brushed open and feet sneaking slowly over in my direction.

'So Kas thinks he can just come into our tent unannounced?' I think, sliding my hand under my pillow slowly and letting my fingers wrap around the hilt of my knife.

Something moves near my head.

'That's it!' Leaping up, I bare my blade and spin around.

I just catch the running figures of two boys racing out of the tent.

'Now didn't they look familiar?' I smile.

"Hmm." Sama grumbles from her sleep. "What's up?"

I glance down by my pillow. There on the ground is a small bag and a rolled up piece of paper. "Nothing."

Reaching down, I unroll the paper. A note is scribbled across the paper carelessly. _Thank you for not ratting us out._ I smile and then open the pouch. Money!

"Nothing at all. I'm gonna step out for a little while."

"You better get your sleep." She rolls back over and starts to breathe again, falling back asleep before I can answer.

"I will."

I slip on my sandals and leave the tent, following the footprints of the two boys until I reach the street where they disappear among the many others. From here, I'll just have to look with my eyes.

People run around like chickens with no heads from stand to stand; screaming, laughing, and trading their goods and resources. I always did hate crowded areas, but it's the perfect place for a pick pocket. I don't stoop that low anymore; it's too easy.

I blink and do a double take, catching sight of the two young boys that had raced out of the tent. I walk over and pull out my money along with the bag they had left behind.

"Excuse me? How much is this?" I hold up a really pretty piece of red and gold lacey cloth for the stand owner to see.

The owner, a tall brute of a man, gives me a look over and laughs. "Too much for rabble like you."

'Did he just call me a rabble? Man, I'm reeeeally starting to hate that word.' I shake my head, but keep the smile plastered on my face.

I lift the bag of money I had got from the boys and pull out six gold pieces. "Is this enough?"

The man's eyes bug out of his head and his jaw drops in shock.

'Keep going like that and you'll swallow a fly, you worm.' I think to myself, grinning wider.

"H-how…?" His sentence trails off, but he quickly composes himself and nods stiffly. "Yes, it's enough."

I smile, taking the cloth off the stand and then walk over to where the boys are hiding in the alleyway.

I hand it to them. "You don't owe me anything. If anything I owe you."

They glance at each other in confusion. "How?" The oldest one asks.

"Well," I start, bending down so that I can be eye level with them, "You guys let me have a little fun. I haven't had time to really trick any guards lately." I grin and they cover their mouths to stop their snickers.

"So here you go. And you can have the rest of this money back too."

"No, you can take it. We wouldn't feel right without repaying you." The younger one chimes in.

"I'll make you a deal, I'll keep five of these gold coins and you can have the rest and this scarf, if you tell me where you got this money from."

The boy's faces go serious and they glance nervously at each other again.

"Well?"

They don't answer.

"Alright, then I'll just have to go turn this in to the guards and-."

"Wait!" The older boy grabs my pants leg. "We got it from him."

I follow his gesture to the rude salesman who had called me a rabble.

"He hit our mom yesterday when she was asking for help, so we wanted to get back at him for it." The younger one adds. "Please don't tell on us."

I smile and give the salesman one last glance before I turn back to the boys. "Fine then. You give this scarf to your mom and tell her to sell it to one of the other venders and not to this man. She should be able to get a good sum out of it. Then I want you to take the rest of this straight home and hide it. Don't use it unless it's an emergency. Okay?"

"Alright." The older one nods, his face unsure. I set the bag in his hands and then flip the five coins I accepted into my own bag.

"My names Tommy." The younger one blurts out.

"And I'm Zarius." The older one chuckles.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Daria."

"Are you an assassin, miss? I wanna be one when I grow up." Tommy smiles, gently giving my pants a tug.

"No, little guy, I'm just an everyday thief with nothing to do." I chuckle.

"Then I want to be a thief when I grow up."

'Well you're well on your way to becoming one.' I think, glancing at the bag of money they had stolen.

"Right now, you need to just focus on being a kid. Go play." I smile nudging them off.

They wave bye as they take off into the alley way and then disappear around the corner. I shake my head as I watch them go off and smile. Kids nowadays have such active imaginations.

Tying my money pouch onto my belt, I cover it up and head back to the tent.

* * *

The black clad figure drops to the ground from atop his horse and approaches the front gate.

Two guards turn to face him, leaping off the wall where they had been leaning against it. "Who are you? We need your name and your purpose for visiting Kamin."

The figure stops, reaching for his hood and grinning darkly. "It's quite simple, really." He starts.

Just as the two guards approach him, he throws off his hood exposing his eyes.

The two guards hit the ground, screaming and clutching their faces, as blood spills through their fingers.

As their screams fade, the black figure replaces his hood and widens his grin. "I'm here to kill." He finishes, his voice threading like silk through the air.

* * *

I shoot up out of bed, gasping. My hand flies to my right arm, grasping at the bracelet that is suddenly burning at my skin.

'Dang it! Why won't it move?' I scream in my mind.

"Daria?" Around me, Sama, Kas, and Firuz quickly rush to my side.

Kas reaches for the bracelet and starts pulling at it the second he sees the smoke pillaring off my skin from under it, but not even his strengths seem to budge the links.

As quickly as the burning had started, it hastily vanishes in a flash.

"Hold on! Stop! It's over, it's not burning anymore." I breathe out with a sigh, trying to tug my arm out of his grasp. He stops pulling at the chain, but doesn't release me.

"Firuz, get me some water." He orders.

The smaller boy rushes off to the other side of the tent to grab a pitcher of water and a bowl nearby; returning to our sides. "Here." He slides the bowl under my arm and Kas carefully pours the water over the bracelet.

It hisses and my screams escape my mouth again. Sama comes to grab me in a hug from behind as they empty the cool water over my skin to cool down the burns. When the pain subsides again, Sama releases me and starts drying my arm off with a towel as I lay down on my back, breathing slowly, but heavily.

"Okay, what happened to you?" Sama chuckles weakly as worry still pinches her face. When she's through drying my arm, Firuz removes the bowl and pitcher and Kas sits down to wrap my arm in some kind of white wrapping.

"What's that for?" I ask breathlessly when I spot his work.

He glances at me, but before he can answer Sama cuts back in.

"Stop changing the subject!"

I jump a little, just as Kas does, and turn my eyes to her instead. "I don't know, geez! All I can remember is having a weird dream and then waking up to…this." I gesture to my burning arm.

"Uh-huh." Sama glances thoughtfully at my arm. "What kind of dream?"

"I can't remember." I cover my eyes with my arm, struggling to ignore the headache.

"Try."

"You hate me don't you?" I lift my arm long enough to glare at her.

"No, I'm trying to figure out what caused the bracelet to go haywire and you're not being much help." She grins.

"Look, I don't know what happened and I really don't care. All I know is that I want this _thing_ off my arm." I growl through my teeth.

They all sit in a long uncomfortable silence.

"We can always cut her arm off." Kas finally says.

I sit up and jerk my arm out of his grasp, glaring daggers at him. The second I move it, my arm flares up again, but it's not as painful as before. It's enough to make me groan in annoyance.

Kas shakes his hand and reaches for my arm again. "That's why you shouldn't really move it right now." He mocks, wrapping his finger around my elbow.

His touch is cool against my already scorched skin, but the odd thing is, my skin doesn't look burnt. Without the energy to really argue, I give up my arm and let him return to wrapping it, settling with giving him a growl.

Sama leaves the tent the second we hear Arsalan's voice and she heads out to tell him to keep his mouth shut. My screams were loud enough, we don't anything else to make a scene.

Being alone in the tent with him isn't really comforting, but if it gets my arm wrapped without me having to do it, then I'm not complaining. He doesn't talk, which is fine with me, so we sit in silence for a good long while to wait for Sama or one of his lackeys to come in.

Firuz is the one to enter.

"Arsalan and Sama are going to see if there are any shops left open so they can get some supplies. We'll leave after they return. Are you okay to travel?" He turns his last question to me.

I lift my arm off my eyes, chuckling. "I've had worse, I'll be fine."

He nods, content with that, and then goes to sit on my other side.

Two guys…inside my tent…alone with me…not exactly comforting.

I sit straight up off the floor and slide back some, being careful not to mess up the work on my arm. He's nearly down to my wrist now.

"So…"

"This is so weird."

Firuz and I look up when he speaks.

He has stopped wrapping and now just turns my arm gently as he looks over the bracelet. Firuz slides around me to sit by him and join in his observation.

"What is?" He asks.

"It looks like it's just wrapping around her arm and yet it's attached to her skin. I don't even see where it's attached at. It's weird." Kas answers.

I glance from one face to another, then down at the object in question. "Um, excuse me? I'm not on display here, so can you not act like it?" I pull my arm away, finishing the job that he started and tying the wrapping off around my thumb; tearing it off with my teeth.

The white wrapping looks completely weird over the bracelet. Even though it's entirely covered, it still bulges out, showing exactly where it snakes around my arm. It'll have to do.

I get up and start packing up my things, sliding my dagger into the sheath around my ankle.

Sama and Arsalan return with our sacks full once more and we tie them up onto the horses. As the sun finally touches the horizon we head for the opposite gate of the town, contrary to the one we had originally entered through.

The horses neigh as we mount them and lead them out into the street. I look over all the tents, now silent as people settle down to sleep, and looks out for any small children who might decide to run out into the road. A dog comes running from the street beyond them where a fog has settled in.

'Wait, that's not fog.' I think. My eyes glance around again at the tents. They're all still and quiet. It's too early for most people to be going to sleep and children are usually running around like crazy this time a day. Then where are they?

I turn back to the 'fog' ahead of us and sniff the air.

I quickly jerk Pilfer to a stop. It's smoke.

Turning my horse to the left, I call back to them. "Try to keep up."

"What's-?" Sama starts.

In a hurried confusion, they spin around and race after me. The horses breathe heavily as we run; their hooves beating against the ground and kicking up the dirt behind us.

"Daria, wait up!" Sama calls out to me as I continue to race far ahead of them.

As I near the wall surrounding the town, I pull Pilfer to a stop and moves her forward slowly. The streets are clear here as well. I hop down and pull my horse along with me from behind as I near the main street right next to the gate. It's opened; or rather it's **blown** open. The darn thing barely hangs on its hinges.

"What is going on here?" I whisper to myself.

"Daria, what are we doing? Shouldn't we be heading away from the trouble?" Sama hisses quietly from behind me. I ignore her as I tie Pilfer to a nearby post, carefully edging myself towards the corner of the small building. Voices start to come into play then.

"Please, spare me! I don't know what you want!" A man cries.

"I want you to tell me where the travelers are that came here not too long ago. One of them wore a bracelet." Responds a smooth as silk voice. It floods into my mind like a whisper from a dream and I blink in surprise. I've never heard such a voice.

"I…I don't know, please, just let me go! I'll give you whatever you want."

"I don't want your money or your items. I want to know where the travelers are. You two, what did you just say?" The voice turns demanding then, effectively getting me to glance around the corner carefully.

There in the middle of the street is the rude merchant I had spoken to, an older couple, about ten women, and three children. They are all on their knees curled into groups, huddling close to one another. The women are crying among themselves quietly, while the children are whimpering.

I quickly glance over all of the children, trying to see if Tommy or Zarius are among them, but I don't find them. Out of all the people in this town, the man or…whatever he is, captures only them? Not much of a group. You'd think he'd grab someone who had actually saw us or remembered seeing us at least.

"Daria?" Sama gets my attention. "We have to get out of here. Whoever that guy is, he's looking for us and that can't be good."

Shifting my eyes away from her, I look down in thought for a moment. She's right. We've brought enough problems to these people. If we leave then the guy will probably leave this town alone too…hopefully.

At least...that was the plan.

* * *

_Again, all the town names and geography is made up. I'm lazy like that._

_Also, Tommy and Zarius are going to be showing up later in the story too, that is…if I don't kill them off here in the next chapter_

_I hope you like the henchman so far because he's going to be an important player in the story later on too._

_Again, thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted, and commented! I welcome more advice._

_:D_

_Please review and enjoy! (But please don't be too hateful... :D )_


	8. Chapter 8: Nabaji

_This chapter is going to leave some people wondering whether or not Daria is as smart as she tries to be, but let me assure you that she is smart it just takes her a bit longer to get things. That and I've made sure that she doesn't get a lot of sleep so that's also a factor._

_Nabaji, the thief territory is something I made up on the spot so no one laugh. I wasn't going to put this part in the story, but I figured Daria needs to be punished some more for being rude all the time and the fact that the story is starting to drag and it's time to add some more action. Just think of these next few chapters as a bonus from me to you! :D_

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_(__**Disclaimer**__: I do __NOT__ own Prince of Persia or their characters. Only Daria, Sama, and any new characters who show up are mine. The Aeon bracelet belongs to me, Blue Rowan, and her sister. The storyline also belongs to me.)_

_

* * *

_

*Chapter 8*

"Alright, when I say go, head out the gate as quietly and quickly as possible." I instruct.

"Are you insane?" Sama snaps.

"He'll see us for sure." Firuz adds quietly.

"We don't have much of a choice. The other gate is directly opposite of this one and he could see us sneaking out that way too." I explains with a shrug.

"Yeah, but at least that gate is farther away from the madman." Sama hisses.

"Sama, please shush and trust me okay?" I can't help, but smile up at her.

"The last time you told me that, we were being hauled away in chains."

All the boys turn to look at her. "Huh?"

I roll my eyes. "But did I not get you out of there?"

The dark-skinned girl doesn't answer. Her eyes only narrow further.

"I risk my case." My smile widens, now giddy since I won the argument.

"Don't think I'm not still against this, Daria."

"You can thank me later." I turn away from her and return to my post at the corner, looking out for any approaching trouble. "All we need is a distraction…"

From behind us, something cracks and falls to the ground as loud as thunder, making the horses jump in surprise and neigh loudly. We all turn around in shock.

Tommy and Zarius blink up at us with sheepish grins from their place in the pile of rubble that had come down.

"Not that kind of distraction!" I hiss in frustration. That noise was sure to bring the danger straight to us. I glance back around the corner and sure enough the man clad in black has dropped the woman he had picked up and heads towards us slowly. "Crap!"

"Who are you two?" Sama asks.

"Tommy and Zarius." I answer for them, backing away from the corner. "You two need to run. Now."

"But we want to help." Tommy argues.

"Yeah, you said you wanted a distraction, so let us get you one." Zarius adds, climbing to his feet.

"It's too dangerous." I cut him off, glancing back quickly. "You need to go."

"No!" Tommy yells.

I try to shush him, but he pushes past me and heads for the corner.

"No, Tommy!"

My scream is cut short when Zarius rushes to join his brother. "We'll hold him off."

I start to rush after them, but I stop when that voice speaks again. The black figure's voice.

"Who are you."

"I-I'm T-Tommy. I was hiding, but the roof came down."

"Tommy." Zarius joins him by his side. "Please sir, we won't tell anyone what we saw, so please let us go."

Their voices are sad and nervous; their acts almost sound real. I takes another step back away from the corner and Pilfer nudges me with her nose.

I can just see their backs from our hiding place in the shadows.

"So you were hiding back there…alone?" He asks, his voice making them jerk.

"Y-yes, sir." Zarius answers. His younger brother grabs his arm tightly.

"Are you sure then?" The figure repeats.

"Yes." This time Tommy answers.

"Well, if you're alone then there's no reason for me to let you go."

My ears pick up the sound of something. A rope? No, the sound is too even. It sounds so familiar.

A light bulb goes off in my head. 'Whip!' My thoughts scream.

"No, please, sir." Zarius pulls his brother behind him and they begin to back away towards the wall. "Please."

His voice is dying now. I can tell the fear on their faces are no longer any acts. Without a second thought, I race out behind them and rip out my own whip.

The black figure has already thrown his and its barbed edges are heading on a death strike towards the two little boys. I skid to a stop behind them and snap my whip forward, the silver bladed chains colliding with his black barbed one and knocking it away from us and back towards its owner.

"GO!" I yell at the top of my lungs.

On cue, Sama, pulling my horse behind her own, leads the others in a full out run out the gate and back into the desert beyond. Tommy and Zarius disappear into the shadows of the town. With another snap, I throw my whip forward in repeated attacks so that he can't do anything but dodge and back up. He moves with such odd, fluid movements.

'Is this guy even human?' I wonder.

Reaching into my pocket, I pull back my whip and hurl the last bead I had that I had pilfered from Firuz, readying myself for the explosion that I knew would come. I high tail it out of there just a second before it hits the ground with an erupting BANG.

The dust and dirt left behind cover my escape, giving me all the time I need to run out the gate and climb on Pilfer's back where the others are waiting. We disappear out into the sands beyond.

* * *

We all sit in silence. A heavy silence. It's not even a silence, it's more like a pressure of tension. It might as well be a boulder pressing down on top of us with each passing second. We hadn't said much since leaving the town, the ride had given us an excuse not to talk, but now, here in this small cramped tent, there's really nothing to do but talk. Though who can? The tension is thicker than the sand storm outside. We had laid the horses on their sides near the edge of the tent and set up the small cover just in time before the storm hit. We barely even had enough time to put the horses blinders on.

Now, all there is left to do is sit. And wait. And chew on our lips in the awkward silence. And try to hold through the maddening tension without so much as a word.

"Gaa! I can't take it anymore! Someone say something! Anything! It's driving me insane!" I'm the first to crack, falling over onto my side, my head almost hitting Kas's leg as I descend.

"Okay, how about this: you could've gotten killed! Daria, are **you** insane?" Sama explodes in my face from across the tent.

"Oh, not this again." I mumble.

"Yes, this again! That guy was clearly out to get you and the bracelet and all you can do is waltz right out into the open and basically hand yourself over on a silver platter!"

"Sama, take a breath." Kas chuckles weakly, trying to calm her down.

"Don't tell me to be calm, boy!" She throws two darts right at me and the I back away as they land not two inches in front of me in the sand.

"Eeeek!"

"Okay, let's all just relax and try to calm down. This pressure is getting us all worked up and fighting isn't going to get us anywhere." Arsalan pulls the darts out of the ground and sighs.

Sama sits down again, crossing her legs and her arms, but continues to glare daggers at me.

'Geez, she acts like she doesn't know me at all. Since when have I ever just walked out of a fight or let two innocent children get killed? I'm not that heartless, am I?' I think to myself, glancing from the dark-skinned girl to the floor where her daggers had hit, then back to her nervously.

Silence is about to settle back in when Kas breaks its chance, pulling out the map. How'd he get it?

I eye him suspiciously.

"Okay, I think it's safe to start heading in our circle now. We'll be hitting the border of the thief territory soon if we don't."

"Oh, why go around? We snuck past guards, fought an evil madman who's obviously bloodthirsty, and brush off sand storms like their nothing at all. Why go around? Why deprive Daria of all her fun?" Sama responds sarcastically.

"Okay, seriously, Sama, now you're just being overdramatic." I point a finger at her.

"Both of you shut up." Kas glares at us, grabbing my hand and pushing it back at me.

I cross my arms and lean back against one of the rods holding up the tent. It wouldn't break; it's made to bend.

"Now, we'll need to travel later at night to avoid being seen, so from now on until we're away from this area, we travel and night and some in the morning." Kas explains. Somehow he had taken control of the situation and I notice a little too much for my comfort. He doesn't sound the same. He sounds almost…cool.

I shake my head. I've been in too many sand storms; maybe they are making me crazy.

"We need a plan just in case we're spotted." Firuz speaks, like he always rarely does.

"Why don't we use Daria as a bribe?" Sama mumbles, getting a glare from Kas.

"We're not using anyone as a bribe. If one of us is caught, the others need to move on without them and get Daria to the Scar place. The person caught can either get out on their own or try and hold out until we can come back and get them." Kas answers. Everyone nods their silent agreements except for me.

It's a good plan, but there's only one problem with it. What is **I** am the one caught? Are they just going to leave me behind? They can't exactly go up to the gods and say 'hey, we lost your bracelet' and they can't exactly take the bracelet off my arm either so…

"Uh…" I start.

Everyone turns to me and I suddenly begin to rethink my idea.

"Never mind."

"Okay, everyone try to get some sleep at least for a little while. I'll wake everyone up in an hour." Kas tells us.

Somehow, everyone finds a place to lay down except for Kas who stays sitting up so that he can keep watch.

I, on the other hand, can't seem to fall asleep at all, so I content myself with just closing my eyes and letting my body rest.

My fight with the black clad man had been nothing to me, but the way he had moved still has me troubled.

It seemed like he danced on air, barely touching the ground. Something just seemed too of about him. Whatever he is, he doesn't appear to be on the good side. On top of it all, I didn't even get the chance to send word to Tamina.

'Crap.' I think.

* * *

I keep myself awake by cleaning my two curved blades. So far I haven't gotten any action out of this trip. It's driving me crazy. By the time this 'quest' is over, I'll be so out of shape that I won't be able to even draw out my swords.

I sigh, leaning back on one of the tent rods like Daria had done before. Next time, she decides to start a fight, I'd finish it. It'll be the only way I can hold up my reputation.

My eyes shift over to rest on Daria's back. She breathes slowly and evenly, fast asleep. Her bare back gives me a perfect view of the few tiny scars that mark her here and there. They form no particular pattern at all, so she must have gotten them at different times because some are lighter than others. One in particular stands out the most, but right away I can tell it's no normal scar.

There across the small of her back, are intricate patterns and designs all forming one bigger design in total. Dots, waves, and spirals of unknown origins form a full circle on her back, pressed into her smooth, tanned skin.

'I've been out into the sun too long. You know you're overheated when you start noticing some random girl's skin.' I roll my eyes and turn my attention back to my swords. 'I wonder what that tattoo is?'

My eyes somehow stray back to that design again. I've never seen it before.

* * *

A small, light touch, lighter than air, brushes my shoulder and I know right away that I'm dreaming. It's too quiet, too peaceful. All that tension and hostility that took place before is gone; it has to be a dream because Sama wouldn't let something like this go for a while. When she gets mad, she holds a grudge for a good long time.

Suddenly though, thanks to my luck, that tension flows right back into the room, filling it.

'Maybe I'm not asleep.' I think.

Again, that light touch brushes my shoulder. It touches my shoulder and then my forearm which I can feel even through the bandages.

"_The Aeon..._"

I jerk a little. Something echoes in my mind. It's dark, wrong evil.

"_The Aeon...where is it?_"

'What?' I think.

"_The Aeon..._"

'What of it?' I ask.

"_Where is it?_"

'Why do you ask? Who are you?'

A dark laugh answers me.

"Daria? Daria!" Kas's voice breaks into my thoughts and I jerk up into a seating position, gasping. "Whoa!" He pulls back away from me. "You okay?"

"Huh?" I turn my eyes up to look at him. He stares down at me warily.

"Are...you...okay?" He repeats robotically.

I roll my eyes and stand up. "Yes, I'm fine. Are we leaving?"

"Yeah, Firuz is getting the horses ready."

"Alright."

Kas gives me one last look over before he leaves the tent. That's when I register Sama's presence. She stares at me hard, but I can see she's worried. I pat her shoulder as I pass and she does the same.

We all quickly pull down the tent, pack it up onto Pilfer's saddle, and then head out. Sama points out the star we need to follow and we keep it to our North-east as we ride and begin our circle around the thief territory known as Nabaji.

Sue me, I just now remembered it.

Off in the distance, I can see where the desert starts to flatten out as it nears the center of Nabaji. The actual center of the territory is basically a big hole surrounded by high canyon walls. Getting down the canyon walls to enter Nabaji is a mystery to every outsider, but then again who would want to get in? There's nothing there.

It's a dry, desolate place with no water. The end.

That's it.

Sad, huh? Why the thieves live would want, or even try, to live there is beyond me.

"Daria."

I blink and turn away from the sight. Sama touches my arm gently.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, why?" I respond with a smile.

She points ahead of us with her thumb. Somehow, I had slowed down and they had riden far on ahead of me. They all stare back at us as they wait.

"Oh, yeah, sorry."

I push Pilfer faster and we carry on. It doesn't last long though; our horses start breathing heavier with each passing second.

"Guys, I think it'd be a good idea to stop." I call, dismounting and going to stroke Pilfer's nose.

"Why?" Arsalan asks me with a 'are you crazy' tone.

"Because we didn't really get a good chance to feed and water the horses. It we continue to push them, they'll wear down faster." I start to unhook saddle bags and throw them over my shoulder. Pilfer huffs, blowing out heavily through her nose like she's sighing.

Kas is the one to dismount next and he starts to do the same with his saddle bags as well. "We'll lead them over there; up ahead."

I glance past him and over to where he had motioned to with his head. A few trees are blowing in the wind about thirty feet ahead. The moonlight highlights the edges of their leaves and tree trunks. They would provide good enough cover, but for how long?

We lead the horses over into the area and tie them up in the center of the small circle of trees. Sadly, there is no water but there is plenty of grass for them to chew on. The horses drop their heads quickly and begin to gobble it up.

I fumble through my bags and for something, anything I could use as a bowl for me to put water in for them. "Does anyone have a bowl or something?" I end up asking.

Everyone starts going through the other saddle bags in response.

"Uh...here."

I look up as Kas empties out a medium bag, that I've never seen before, of all its contents and hands it to me.

"It's cow hide." He tells me.

I open the bag and empty my water jug into it. It sloshes to the bottom. Standing up, I head over to the first horse that looks up at me. Myst.

I open the bag to her so she can lower her nose inside and drink. After about a minute, I pull the bag away from her and go on to the next horse. Sama offers to empty her jug next so that two more horses can drink. Kas goes next, but he only gives up half his jug since only Pilfer has to drink next. She practically swallows the water up in a single gulp.

"Let's give them time to eat their fill before we move out again."

"Can we at least light a fire? It's getting colder." Arsalan asks.

"No." Kas and I quickly answer at the same time.

"We don't want anyone seeing us." I add.

"If they haven't seen us already." Kas responds.

I narrow my eyes at him. "Glad you're so optimistic."

He shrugs.

Everyone literally falls into slumber as we wait, Arsalan's snores keeping us company, but I nod in and out. The wind is blowing, the snores are grumbling, and the horses are munching too loud for me to even try, but I do eventually and I laugh mentally.

Beat that, noise!

* * *

A creaking noise is what wakes me up not long later. I jerk up and glance around cautiously. Night is still alight around us.

I look up finally when I hear the noise again. It's just the trees rocking in the wind.

Rolling my eyes, I sigh and lean back against the rock I had been sleeping next to.

"Move and die." A knife presses under my throat before I can react. My own knife falls from my hand.

'Crap.'

Around me, about twenty people appear, dropping from above us and spilling out of the shadows.

'Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!' I hiss in my mind.

The first person they go after and take down is Sama; good move because if they had given her a split second, they'd all be dead. They quickly tie up her hands behind her back, cover her mouth, then tie her feet. Hey, she's got hidden darts around her ankles too.

Firuz is about to pull something out of a square object with his teeth, but they tackle him to the ground and wrap him up tight with a net. Within seconds, he's hanging inside a net bag from a tree.

Arsalan, and all his muscular build, throws two bodies off him like rag dolls and into the trees closest to him. Sadly, they somehow push him back into a tree and bind him to it from around his neck, torso, and ankles. They tie his hands back around the thick trunk of the tree last.

Kas rolls away from the pair of hands that start reaching for him and he stops right in the center of the clearing, one knee to the ground. He draws out his two curved blades from his back and readies himself for any attack.

'Not bad for an amateur.' I smirk. Glancing down at my forearm, I stare at the bulging bandages. 'You'd think this thing would be going haywire since this knife's at my throat.'

As if to prove a point, a sharp pain stabs me in my arm, causing me to cry out, and a shock of electricity spirals around my wrist and up to my elbow before striking the person behind me square in the chest and sending him flying backwards away from me.

He lies sprawled out across the sand motionless, his chest scorched black as if he had been struck down by a bolt of lightning from the sky itself. My eyes widen in horror until I see his hand twitch and I sigh in relief; he's not dead.

"What the hell?" A sharp, angry voice demands behind a mask near me.

I dodge his blade and dive for me swords. Now it's game on.

With a few quick steps, I make my way over to Kas's side and put my back to his; out here this gesture means a lot, so he'd better guard my back.

"You got a plan?" He whispers over his shoulder.

I freeze. "You…don't?"

He groans in defeat.

If I had Sama at my back we could beat these people in a matter of minutes, but with this amateur? I don't know how bad he is. Heck, we'll probably only last five seconds before we're killed.

One of the masked men charges at us and I spin my eyes around to get him in my line of vision, ready to knock him out before he can finish off the poor boy, but Kas takes action before I can.

Using both his blades, he knocks the man's spear aside and then elbows him straight in the nose.

Scratch that, we may last twenty seconds.

"Enough!" A deep voice demands. Kas and I turn to face it. A few of the masked men step aside as a taller one takes a few steps towards us. I raise one of my blades in warning and he stops. "We have only come for one thing and it's not to fight with you."

Kas and I share a glance before looking down at my arm. There's no other reason why they could be here.

The taller man lowers the cloth covering his face and reveals a scar that runs vertically down the right side of his face, over his eye and one side of his mouth. Slowly, he raises his spear blade and points it at Kas.

"We're just here for him."

"What?" My arm drops in surprise. These people…are here for a boy? That's it? I start to laugh in hysteria and the battle tension slowly fades to confusion. "You're…? I thought….you were…" I laugh again, pointing down at my arm and then doubling over once more.

"Uh…Daria?" Kas asks over my hysteria fit.

"Geez, well, that's a load off. S-so…you just came….for him?" I point at Kas and the scar man nods once. I laugh again. "Oh, gods! Well, that's okay then." Relief is making me giddier than normal.

"Daria!" Firuz demands, cutting me off from his place in the tree.

"What?" I shrug, my laughter dying away, before I turn to face Kas. He stares at me like I'm crazy. "What?"

"Very well then." The scar man snaps his fingers and about five men descend on Kas like rain, wrestling him to the ground. "Take their horses too."

"Excuse me?" I glare at the man. Things are happening way too fast.

"We can't have you following us." He answers, returning my glare coldly.

My eyes narrow in response and I turn to glance at Kas silently. Around me, Firuz, Arsalan, and Sama are all arguing, causing an uproar that lands on deaf ears. All of the masked me round up the horses and drag Kas away who glares at me one last time before the whole group disappears into the night.

I let my eyes fall to the sand around my feet as I think and wait for the others to get out on their own. Firuz is the first, burning away the net until he falls to the ground quietly. He unties Sama who cuts the ropes on Arsalan's bindings.

"Why didn't you fight back?" Arsalan demands.

"Why did you let them take him? You just handed him over!" Firuz yells.

Their voices don't get to me much; I'm too busy thinking, planning. When they finally cool down some time later, I turn to Sama who has been rather quiet though the whole thing.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" I ask her.

She smiles, catching me off guard. "Because I already know that you're not going to follow the plan. You never do."

"That's because I've never been one for plans. Plans fail." I smirk.

* * *

"So we make it through the desert, find the center of the territory, locate the thieves hide out, yet you…don't know how to get down?" Arsalan groans.

"Shut up, I'm working on that part." I snap, glancing down the ledge we've come to. It's the outer canyon wall that circles the territory; I've never seen it up close and now I know why I never came here. It's a good drop down to your death if you fall. It's like looking down the canyon back at the Sand Glass; the only difference is that I can see the bottom here. I think I'd rather not be able to see it personally. It just reminds me of that tiny problem I have with heights.

Laugh and I'll kill you.

"Sooo…"

"Sama, would you please." I send her a look.

"Okay, I just wanted to say that over that way it looks lower. We can probably climb down, but it would take us a long time." She pats my shoulder on one side and points off to my right with the other hand.

I follow her motion.

Sure that area looked closer to the ground, but I bet all my hard earned, stolen goods that it wasn't much of a difference from here.

How'd these thieves get in? It couldn't be that hard. They had five horses and twenty or so men. They couldn't carry the horses down.

"This is really messed up!" I kick the sand, my anger flying.

"What is?"

The familiar voice has me looking up in surprise. "Lani! Aron!"

"Who?" Firuz and Arsalan ask in union turning around.

Sama skips ahead of me and circles the smaller woman in a hug. She's a year older than me, but totally smaller. She's like a tooth pick, but don't let that fool you. She may look vulnerable, but she's deadly with a set of twin daggers. Her speed is her best friend, besides Aron that is. She has her long dark hair pulled up high onto her head and it falls down to her waist in a long braid. A dark red wrap with no straps covers her top, but her shoulders and stomach are exposed to the elements. A brown belt circles her waist and attached is a long piece of red cloth that covers her in front and in the back. Under it she wears a pair of shorts, not usually something a woman would be found wearing. Clipped onto her waist are her daggers, sheathed to keep the blades protected.

Aron on the other hand is nearly two heads taller than her, his light brown hair cut short and normal atop his head. He has a black band tied around his skull and the rest of it falls out behind him to his shoulders. He wears a black vest with a red shirt under it, over black wide legged pants held up with numerous black and brown belts. His pair of axes rest across his back.

"What are you guys doing here?" I pull Sama off of her and get a quick hug before going to swamp Aron with one as well. He accepts the hug with one arm and I quiet smile. He's always been the shy type.

"Same as you-looking for a new challenge." Lani giggles, pointing over at the ledge.

"What are you crazy? I'm not looking for anything. We're just here to rescue someone."

"Who she just happened to hand over." Arsalan cuts me off.

"I didn't hand over anyone! I'm here, ain't I?" I snap.

"Rescue? Ooooh! Can I come! I've always wanted to get a good look around in there." Lani grins and leans out over the ledge to look down into the dark plain below.

Sama and I stare at her back as if she's insane.

"What she means to say is that we'd love to help if we can." Aron smiles.

I turn to him and grin slyly.

"Uh-oh. I know that look. Here it comes." Sama throws her hands up and walks away.

"I got a plan!"

"Yep, here we go." Sama plops down into a seating position in the sand.

"No really, I got a good one this time!" I promise her.

"Daria, the last time you even **tried** to follow a plan we ended up nearly killed in a death match against lions." Sama rolls her eyes.

Arsalan and Firuz share a look.

"Oh, but that was like one time! This time you can stay here and make sure no one else is taken, since apparently these two think I can't be a good watch dog," I glance at the two boys, "and Lani and Aron can come with me."

Sama gives me a hurt look. "You don't want me to come along. I swear the only reason I was caught back there was because I was sleeping heavy. It won't happen again."

"No, no, no, no, no, no! The only reason I want you to stay here is because I trust you to be able to keep them alive." I assure her.

"What are you tryin' to say?" Lani asks, her voice beating daggers into my back.

"UGH! Look I'm not going to stand here trying to appease people all night! Lay off and agree to come with me already." I growl back.

She gives me a long cold look before it turns to a smile and she exclaims "Okay! Let's go!"

She takes my hand and starts tugging me away. "Sama take good care of them. If we're not back in two days, go back to Tamina and tell her everything."

"Alright, I will!" She wave to us as we leave. "You guys be careful!"

"We will!" We answer.

* * *

I drop down another ledge and Lani follows behind me. "So you're saying, you've gotten into the territory before?"

"Yep, and these steps helped show me the way. They just keep going down and down and down, all the way to the bottom. I don't know how the thieves get in, but this way works too. Personally, I don't think they know this is here, else ways, they'd probably get rid of it." Lani answers, jumping down onto another ledge just below us.

Aron catches her and sets her down before turning back up to catch me too.

"It'd be a whole lot slower though if Aron wasn't here to help. I thank you for that, darling." She quickly stands up on tiptoe and gives him a quick peck on the cheek. It's enough to make me gag and I do just to annoy her. I get a nice long death glare from her for it.

"So, you came down here and then what?"

"Nothing. I figured I'd made it down into the territory when no one else could figure out how, so it was enough of a win for me. I climbed back out and headed on after that."

"Kind of a waste don't you think?" I laugh.

"Not for me."

"Of course not. What about you Aron?"

"This is my second time here. I came with Lani once before." He answers, dropping down to another level.

"Wow, I feel left out now." I stare off into the distance beyond.

"Don't! You're here now, so you're now a part of the secret." She wraps her arm around my shoulders before pushing me off the edge.

"AGH!" Aron catches me and sets me down.

"Shush! Don't be so loud. Everything echoes down here." Lani drops and when Aron places her down I punch her in the arm for revenge.

We finally make it to the bottom and I look around. Nothing. Just like I figured.

The ground is as dry as dust, with cracks and all, there's not a single sliver of green or life anywhere, and there's no sound here at all. How do the thieves do it?

"Okay, now where?"

"You're asking me?" I growl. "I told you I've never been down in Nabaji before."

She covers me mouth. "I said shush! I'm kidding with you. Think about it, many people have come here looking for a way in, but they couldn't find anything. That means they walked around the entire perimeter, so that tells us that the hide out can't be around the edge anywhere. Leaving only the center for us to search, case closed."

Sometimes I hate that woman. I glare after her as she walks off.

We walk for miles, or so it seems, hearing and seeing nothing. Not a single animal or bug anywhere. It's scary really. I'm regretting the fact that I left my water bottle on Pilfer's saddle.

"So who are the companions with you?" Aron asks quietly as we follow behind Lani across the flat plain.

'Crap, he'll ask, I'll answer and the next thing you know, they'll know about the bracelet too. Do I want to risk them getting hurt over it?' I think to myself. I decide to keep them safe. I'll apologize later.

"They're, um, just some people we picked up who needed to get past the mountain range to the North of here. We figured we'd give them a hand since money was running a bit tight." I shrug with a smile.

"So their paying you then? Nice." He laughs.

Ahead of me I can see that Lani's back has suddenly gone a little stiff.

"Hey, Lani, you okay?" I chuckle.

"Yes!" She quickly spits out. At first I start to feel like something's off, but then she turns around with a dazzling smile and she just laughs. "I'm good. You?"

"Fine."

She turns back around so she isn't walking backwards anymore and I drop the subject. Beside me, Aron shrugs.

"Wait, get down!" Lani suddenly hisses. She drops low to the ground and goes to duck behind a small boulder. We follow to hide behind her in her shadow. Before us is a tall rock structure, maybe a hundred feet tall, winding and curving in a smoke-like way. A few holes are smoothly rubbed away into it here and there, but other than that it looks life-less, just like everything else out here.

"Why are we hiding from a rock?" I whisper.

"Shush! Look." She cuts me off in a hiss. With her right hand she points off across the flat ground to a nearby crack in the ground. Smoke is pillaring out of it from somewhere underground.

"So we found a steam vent. Why are we hiding from a rock?" I ask again.

Lani turns around and growls low right in my face. "Think about it, darling. Where does smoke come from?"

"How do you know it's smoke?"

"Just answer the question." She growls through her teeth.

"Fine. Fire."

"Exactly. And where does fire come from?"

"Lava or heat or…wait are you saying we're inside a volcano?" I ask, glancing around nervously.

"No, I'm saying that fire is started by people, meaning there are people under us, meaning it's hallow under this surface." She grins darkly.

"Great, so how are we going to **get** underground?" I roll my eyes, but then stop as a thought occurs to me. "Wait the rock!"

"What about it?" They asks in union.

"It's covered in holes."

"Yeah, we can see that." Lani shrugs impatiently.

I groan, grab her hand, and pull her along. "Come on!"

* * *

_Again, all the town names and geography is made up. I'm lazy like that._

_I hope you guys liked Lani and Aron (also my characters)! I gave Lani a sort of southern accent because I thought I'd be funny, but her accent isn't really that noticeable so don't worry. Lani and Aron are only here for these 'bonus chapters' if you will, but I'm debating on whether or not to bring them back in. What do y'all think?_

_Again, thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted, and commented! I welcome more advice._

_:D_

_Please review and enjoy!_


	9. Chapter 9: Above and Below

_Okay, we're still going through the 'bonus chapters' that I decided to put in here. This chapter is actually shorter than I thought it was, so I hope it doesn't ruin anyone's mood. XD_

_Sama, Arsalan, and Firuz aren't going to be seen for a bit longer so their fans will have to wait a bit longer too. Kas, Daria, Lani, and Aron are going to be the stars for a while. You also get to meet Kas's sister for the first time in the story! Hope you like her!_

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_(__**Disclaimer**__: I do __NOT__ own Prince of Persia or their characters. Only Daria, Sama, and any new characters who show up are mine. The Aeon bracelet belongs to me, Blue Rowan, and her sister. The storyline also belongs to me.)_

_

* * *

_

*Chapter 9*

I pull them up against the rock wall quickly just as the guard I had spotted walks across the opening of the hole just above us.

I place a finger over my mouth, signaling for them to keep quiet, and Lani rolls her eyes. I slide, keeping my back against the smooth rock, past the opening and around the rock base until we're past the opening.

"How are we going to get in? That guard probably changes every two hours and we can't exactly wait around forever." Lani whispers the second we're out of ear shot.

"I don't know, give me a second."

"That's a second we don't have. Think faster."

I turn around and glare at her. "All I know is that this rock is covered in holes. That can't be the only way in." I duck past her and continue on around the base until I spot another bigger opening above us. Climbing in, they follow close behind.

It's dark in here except for the soft yellow glow of torches here and there. I stop quietly and glance around the corner. The guard we had passed is patrolling this entire entry way. It's like one long hallway going from one side to the other. I look down and smile.

Dead center of the halls, it opens up into a wider area and, like a winding staircase, a walkway carved into the rock disappears deep underground where an even brighter light comes pouring out. Faintly I can hear the sound of music.

I point a finger towards it and they both nod. Together, we duck back behind the corner and wait. Not a second later, the guard comes around the corner and we knock him out before he can scream. Not much of a guard if you ask me.

Aron pulls off the sentries top vest and slips it over his own and then unwraps the man's mask to use it as well, tying it over his face.

We smile, happy with the disguise, and then head for the tunnel going down. We move slowly, listening out for any movement up ahead, but nothing comes to bar our path, so the way down is easy. At the end, the tunnel opens up and we walk out onto a wooden deck like structure, dusking down behind the rugs that are slung over the railings. We glance over the tops and gasp.

It's like looking out over an underground city. Here and there tall pillars reach from the ground to the ceiling, supports, while stairs are built to spiral up them to rooms higher up inside them. Around on the ground are tents and huts, surrounded by fires and dancing people that look almost like ants from way up here. All of them are laughing, chatting, and singing just as loud as the music. It's amazing.

The many fires light the great cavern perfectly, making it seem like a world inside a world. It's not as bright as the day light, but it works. I look out across the ceiling of the cavern and spot ropes tied to wooden contraptions planted to the cave top.

'What are those for?' I wonder.

"Daria? Can I come live here?" Lani whispers.

"No. Keep focused." Aron shuts me off before I can answer. "Does anyone see where they would keep prisoners?"

I ignore the amazing world around me and glance around for some kind of prison hold or dungeon like place. A small hut, dirty and worn down, catches my attention. Off to our right and left, wooden stairs and bridges travel down along the outer walls and into the wondrous city. The hut in question is right at the end of the path way to our right.

I tap Lani on the shoulder. "This way. We'll find some uniforms as we head down."

We carefully and quietly make it down the stairs and bridges, praying desperately that no one would look up anytime soon. We make it down and thankfully I spot a woman guard. Sneaking up behind her, I knock her out and drag her behind the nearest building. Seeing as they had seen me and not Lani, I would use the disguise. I quickly pull on the vest and wrap the cloth around my face. It smelled like sweat. Ew.

Lani shrugs, pointing to herself.

Aron turns her around and points off around the corner. Yet another female guard is walking by. How lucky can one get?

We sneak around the back side of the building and knock this woman out to and Lani quickly takes her disguise.

"Now what?" She asks once she's done dressing.

"Aron, you keep an eye out here. Lani and I will head inside and have a look around." I instruct.

We leave him and head inside the run down hut, using the keys we pilfered from one of the female guards. Sure enough, the building is filled with about five men and two women, all chained up to the wall. They look asleep…or dead…it depends on what kind of attitude you've got at the time when you look at them.

"Do you see him anywhere?" She whispers through her mask. I forget about the other people and glance around for Kas. I don't see him anywhere.

"No."

"Maybe they have him somewhere else. Come on."

I follow her back out, we get Aron, and then head farther into the city.

The people barely even notice us. A few heads pop up now and again, but it's only to wave and/or say hi to us. Lani nearly dances away twice, but we pull her back to her senses just in time. All the people seem so carefree and family-oriented here. More than once I catch myself looking around at the celebration rather than looking for Kas. I shake my head.

'Get him and get out.' I chant to myself.

I push around dancers and chatters, being careful not to draw attention to myself, but sometimes I bump into a few people here and there.

"Oh, excuse me." I say. "Whoops, sorry." Geez, he could be anywhere in this place.

"Anything?" Lani asks from behind me.

"No. It's been hours. Knowing my luck, I'm probably too late and he's probably dead."

"Don't think like that." Aron stops my sentence. "You said it's been about six hours since he was taken. He may still be alive."

"Yeah. Alright." I nod.

Someone rams right into my shoulder. "Ow! Oh, sorr-!" I stop cold.

"Excuse me." He says.

I'm looking straight into Kas's face!

"Ah! Wait!" I'm just a moment too late. He disappears into the crowd.

"Was that him?" Lani asks. "Wow, he's cute." She whispers quietly in my ear with a giggle. I nudge her off with a groan; she thinks ever guy with pretty eyes is cute.

I shake my head and motion for them to follow me. We head through the crowd and try to find Kas again. I spot him, heading for the stairs leading up the tall pillars holding up the ceiling and I race after him.

Two guards come by then, crossing right in front of our path and Aron grabs me by my vest and pulls me back behind a tent out of sight.

"What are you doing? We're going to lose him!" I snap.

"We know where he's going." He looks up with us, our eyes traveling up the tall pillar. "Right now, we have to make sure **we** don't get caught before we get him."

Finally, after what seems like hours, the two big brawny guards move on, leaving our path wide open. Straining to keep myself from running, we make our way around the pillar, climbing up the winding staircase until it finally levels out for a few feet. We approach the first door and Lani takes a quick into the small hole for a window, pushing aside the cloth curtain.

"Is he in there?" I whisper.

"Nope." She quickly pulls away from the window, a light blush touching her cheeks.

I roll my eyes and reach for the window. "How do you know? You barely took the time to look."

She pulls me away before I can get the chance to get near the window. "It's too graphic for your young eyes."

"Wha-?"

We continue up until we come to the final room at the top. It's dark inside; the curtains are drawn, the door is shut, and there's no movement.

'Should we check anyway?' I wonder.

* * *

I sigh, lying out across the bed I was given; my bed, or so they had said. For the last six hours or so I've been here, for some reason all I can seem to wonder about is Daria and the group.

They would be long gone way from here so there's no way I could catch up. Then again, how could I leave? Not after what happened…

A movement catches my eye and I sit up with a sigh. Are the guards coming to check on me again? All I did was take a walk around the town, nothing more.

"I can't see a anything, it's too dark." A high voice whispers so softly that I almost missed it.

Someone grunts impatiently and the sound has me on my feet in a flash. There's no way…It can't be…

Two seconds later, the door swings open and three, badly dressed, guards collapse into the room, falling over each other and hitting the floor.

While they're busy untangling themselves, I quickly head over to the center of the room where a very small candle burns atop a tall pedestal and pick it up. A round bowl of oil sits in the center of the table and I use the candle to light it; the fire burns to life. Seeing as my room is at the top of the pillar I'm allowed to have a fire, they said the smoke escapes out of a man-made hole in my rooms roof where it then exits out into the world above us.

I spin around a second later just in time to see them stand up. The one oil bowl isn't enough the light the whole room, but it's enough for me to see what I want. There's other candles around the room, I'm just too lazy to light them.

"Geez, can you be any clumsier?" The shortest one growls in that higher voice.

"Now, now." The tallest one, obviously a man, tries to quiet her.

"You pushed me!" Comes the voice I know all too well, even from behind the mask she wears.

A small grin touches my face as I lean against the bed post to wait out their argument.

"I so did not! Don't try to pin this on me." The shorter one shoots back.

"Would you two be quiet, please. They might hear us." The man grabs both of the girls by the shoulders and pulls them apart.

"They already have." I answer him.

All three of them turn to face me and those eyes that I know even after such a short time connect with mine. I wave.

She blinks a few times before announcing "Found him!"

"Shush!" The other two quiet her, causing her to take a few steps back. Her hip bumps into the pedestal in the center of the room, but it doesn't budge since it's carved straight out of the floor. Her eyes shift from the oil bowl, now blazing with fire, to the smoke escaping through the roof.

"Oh, so that's where the snoke's coming from." She says.

"Told you." The other girl puts her hands on her hips.

Finally, I can't take it anymore. I leave the bed side and stop by her side, turning her so that she's facing me. Before she can pull away, I reach behind her head and untie the cloth mask over her face; I pull it away.

"Okay, good. I just wanted to make sure it was you." I smile.

"What, you couldn't tell from the voice?" She rolls her eyes and brushes a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. Why does she keep it up anyway?

"Yeah, but I still wanted to make sure it was real."

"Awe!"

Daria and I turn around slowly to stare in confusion at the audience behind us.

"Oh…wait, so you two are just friends?" She chuckles, pointing at us.

"Yeah." We answer in union.

"Oh, whoops." She backs up a bit to hide behind the tall man.

I shake my head and smile. "So they are?"

"Lani and Aron." She introduces them.

"So those are the two from the story Sama was telling Ari?" I ask. She nods. "Wow, I thought they were just fictional character she made up for the girl."

"Fictional?" Lani gasps.

"Hush." Aron silences her.

"Okay, we got we came for now let's get out of here." She grabs my wrist and starts to pull me towards the door, but I draw her to a stop.

"No, I can't go." I confess.

"Sure you can. We'll just find some rope, tie you up and make it look like we're taking you to the dungeon or something. Don't worry, we've already planned it out." She starts to pull me again.

She doesn't get it. She doesn't understand. I can't leave. "Daria, listen to me: I can't go."

"What do you mean 'you can't go'? The door's right there. Come on."

I tug her back grabbing both of her hands. "You're not getting this. I. Can't. Leave."

"Why? Not?" She mimics my tone. I can tell she's getting annoyed. "It's not like guards are guarding your way-!"

"Because I'm guarding it!" I cut her off finally. She falls silent, her face going blank. She's going to kill me, but I have to take that risk. She has to understand why I can't leave. I swallow hard.

After a long, tortured, pause, she pulls her hands free of my grasp, closing her eyes and letting out a heavy breath. She heads for the door.

"Fine. We're leaving. Do what you want." She waves back, her bandaged arm flashing in my line of sight.

"Daria."

"What?" She turns around, her stare is cold and distant and it has a shiver running down my spine. The question is: why? I've only known her a short time. She's barely even a friend to me, so why should I care?

I take a deep breath. "I can't leave my sister."

"What?" Her eyes start to change again, returning back to normal, and I can't help, but feel a flash of hope inside me.

That's when my room door bursts open with a bang.

* * *

I spin around, but I'm just a second too slow. A sword tip comes to rest at my throat. I swallow on reflex.

"These are definitely them. Their disguises are terrible." The man threatening me says.

"Funny. We got them from **your** people." Lani answers sarcastically.

This throws the man for a loop. He lowers his blade ever so slightly…

I smack his hand, knocking the sword loose, and grab the hilt, returning the blade to him and pressing the tip to his throat.

"Daria, stop. Please." Kas tells me. I glance back to see two guards are holding him back away from her, while four others have surrounded Lani and Aron.

"Yes, Daria, stop." A familiar voice says. I turn back to see the scar man stepping into the room. Two guards are behind him, escorts.

"Don't use my name. You don't know me." I respond flatly.

"Don't I? Kas and I talked for quite a long time. You and I are practically friends now." He chuckles.

I narrow my eyes. "I don't make a habit out of befriending people who threaten my life."

He laughs. "Of course you don't."

"Excuse me. Pardon me. Coming through." Someone comes through the door and starts pushing their way through the crowd. It's a woman. She's the same height and size as Lani, but maybe a hair taller. My eyes go wide in shock. It's like I'm looking at Kas if he were a woman. I try my best to hold in my laughter.

"Foe, what is going on?" She asks the scar man.

"Foe?" Lani brakes in.

"Wow, isn't that ironic." I add, grinning.

"These people broke in, disguised themselves as our guards, and then tried to kidnap your brother." Foe reports.

"He's twisting it!" Lani snaps.

"Technically, we didn't break in. We snuck in." Aron adds nervously.

Lani and I glare at him with our 'you're-not-helping' looks. He shrinks.

Kas's sister, apparently, glances between me, Lani, Aron, and then Kas himself. "Is this true, Darion?"

My eyes jerk open wide again and I glance back at Kas in shock. Darion?

"Nickname." He explains quickly.

"Uh-huh." I answer, not buying his story.

"Who are you?"

I turn back to Kas's sister. "Daria."

Somehow, while I had turned away most likely, Foe had got near me and grabs my right arm. His grip presses the bracelet harder into his skin. I hiss.

Twisting me around, he gets a hold on both my wrists and forcing me against the wall face first.

"She's a Hiten." He announces, exposing my back where my mark is plainly seen.

The room goes dead silent for the longest time. Great, now I'm in trouble.

Again, I'm twisted around until another guard comes and grabs my other arm

"You make it sound like you have a problem with Hitens." I growl through my teeth, pulling at his grip still on my right arm. He holds fast.

"Not a problem. We're just surprised to see one that's all." He answers.

"No!" Lani cries.

I glance at her, confused by her outburst.

"We heard that their territory was attacked by a small group of Hassassins a few days ago." He continues.

This makes me laugh. "Okay, first off, **no one** can get into our village and second, Hassassins don't exist anymore because they're extinct."

His dark smile returns. "I did say it was a **small** group."

My body goes cold the second I see the truth in his gaze. My eyes freeze, unblinking. My face drops blank. My limbs lock up and go numb. I can't feel anything, I can't even think. My voice lodges inside my throat, blocking it until I can't seem to breathe.

Suddenly, things start to move, but it's so slow. Voices start to speak, but it's like they're so far away and I'm stuck here trapped underwater and I just keep sinking deeper.

"That's it. I won't have a Hiten anywhere near my brother or the people. Put them all into the prison hold now."

"Alana, sister, please wait."

"No. Foe, take care of it."

"As you wish."

I'm moved then, I think. I couldn't feel my feet if they walked. I couldn't feel my lungs if they breathed.

All I remember is sinking deeper into the dark water around me, letting it take me.

* * *

_Again, all the town names and geography is made up. I'm lazy like that._

_Okay, Kas's sister, if you haven't figured it out, is the leader of the Nabaji territory. Yeah, I know what you're thinking and no, I have no idea how she became the leader. I just decided to be random for once in the story and yes there is more randomness to come._

_Again, thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted, and commented! I welcome more advice._

_:D_

_Please review and enjoy!_


	10. Chapter 10: Home

_Okay, this chapter is just downright boring and rather rushed, but I hope you guys don't mind. I felt like the story had been stopped on the 'bonus chapters' long enough so I needed to get it moving along._

_In this chapter, we get to find out exactly what is going on back at Daria's home. YAY!_

_Sadly though, I can't tell you all that happens because then you wouldn't read._

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_(__**Disclaimer**__: I do __NOT__ own Prince of Persia or their characters. Only Daria, Sama, and any new characters who show up are mine. The Aeon bracelet belongs to me, Blue Rowan, and her sister. The storyline also belongs to me.)_

_

* * *

_

*Chapter 10*

"Kas, I cannot let you near her. She's too dangerous." Alana says to me again, facing me.

"No, she isn't. I've seen-."

"You've seen what, Kas?" She cuts me off. "Do you know the legends of the Hiten? They are just as strong and just as dangerous as the Ngbaka and the Hassassins."

"They can't be that-."

"They are, Kas. Whatever you've seen her do up until now is probably not even a **piece** of what she could do." She explains.

I don't respond. Alana knows a lot more than me because she actually listens to all those stories and legends, but is she telling the truth about Daria? I've never heard of a Hiten or about their skills. I can't see Daria as a killer though or even as someone who would seriously hurt somebody. It's just impossible, right?

What kind of history has she hidden from them? How much strength has she kept dormant in front of them?

"It doesn't matter now anyway."

I look up when she speaks again.

"According to the guards, the last four times they gave her food, she has rejected it. It seems like she's on a suicide mission to die in our prison. She'll be dead in a week from starvation if she continues." Alana sighs worriedly. "It's best to stay away from her, Kas."

"Alright, I will." I answer her slowly. Content with my answer she nods and turns away to address the two guards who have entered the room. "For now." I finish under my breath.

* * *

Two days have passed since my talk with my sister. Each of those days, I've used to study the prison hold; which guards were more observant and when exactly the guards were changed. At night, I snuck off to see which ways were safe for me to take and if they were less traveled by guards.

Tonight, I get to finally pull all that waiting and watching together and break into the prison hold.

I glance around the corner cautiously. The two guards are at a table a good thirty feet away from the door. I can see how Daria got in so easily.

Sneaking through the shadows, I make it over to the door, remove the keys off the wall, and unlock it, returning the key so that it doesn't look suspicious. Inside it's as dark as the night sky except for the light coming through the small windows. The air is thick, hot, and murky; it doesn't smell right. A man lays collapsed in the far corner, his arms dangling above him from the wrists where they're still clasped in irons.

Few people shift in movement, few even seem to breathe. One older man, his hair dimming to white from age, glances up at me for a long moment before moving his gaze over to the opposite right corner.

Lani and Aron have their heads hanging down in sadness or defeat, I'm not sure, and they're seated on the cold, stone floor with their knees drawn up to their chests. Their wrists are shackled, chains and all, and pulled high above their heads like everyone else locked up in here.

The small window above them casts a pale, flickering light into the room from a torch outside. The glow casts itself across the wall and floor, highlighting a figure drawn up in the same position as Lani and Aron.

'Daria.' I think. Letting out a heavy breath, I step towards her. She doesn't move; her face cast in shadow making her look like a statue. Her dark hair, which she always kept so evenly pulled back, barely holds together inside her hair tie; a few pieces actually fall lose, spiraling in soft curls around her darkened face.

"I wouldn't even bother **trying** to talk to her."

I stop and glance at Lani, who had spoken for only a second before I turn back to Daria.

"She won't speak." She continues as if I had asked. "At least…not to me."

"Why?" I didn't need to ask, but I needed to hear her say it out loud.

"I knew…about the attack on her village…I just…didn't think it was true."

Looking away, I kneel down slowly in front of Daria. Even this close, I can't seem to find her eyes. The shadows hiding them are too dark.

"Daria?" I whisper, touching her knee gently. "Come on, we have to get out of here."

"She's probably already loose." Lani answers me without looking up from the floor.

"How? She doesn't have a key." I glance at her.

"She's a Hiten." Lani chuckles softly.

I glance back at Daria quickly when a movement catches my attention. The chains rattle as she brings her shackled hands down over my head and around my neck as if she's embracing me. Her eyes open to stare at me. They're cold, dull, and distant.

Suddenly, a loud clang shatters from right behind my head when her arms jerk. The sound makes me flinch. A second later the rattling of chains hit the floor.

"She doesn't need a key." Lani finishes.

Daria, blinking once before standing straight up, takes a step around me.

"Wait, Daria, the guards are still out there. You need your-." I stop again.

As she continues to head towards the door, she pulls out a small hidden knife out from her pants along the small of her back. My eyes widen in surprise. Just how many weapons does she have?

With a swift movement, she opens the door, enough to glance out and then grab the keys where I had replaced them. She turns back around and tosses them. They hit the floor with a clang and slide a ways until they hit Lani's foot. She looks up, shocked, but Daria's eyes are still cold and expressionless.

"Get out if you can." Her first words that I've heard in two days are just as cold as her eyes, but I can hear, deep below it all, that there's concern buried under it.

As she turns away, Aron calls after her. "Be careful, Daria."

She stops for only a moment before nodding and opening the door wide.

"Stop right there!"

'That voice!' I quickly step around Daria and stand in front of her. Dozens of guards surround us in a half-circle with my sister standing at the center of it, directly in front of us.

"Sister, stop!" I demand.

"Kas, move!" I don't want you hurt." She responds.

"Move, boy!" Foe demands, drawing his blade and baring the tip to my throat.

"Foe!" My sister shrieks.

Behind me, I can feel Daria flinch, but I reach back and grab her wrist before she can move. Her fingers freeze in surprise and I can feel her eyes bore into the back of my head. I keep my eyes forward, continuing to gaze directly at my sister. I ignore Foe and his blade threatening to slit my throat.

"Kas, please move!" My sister pleads. "Foe, drop your sword. That's an order!"

Foe doesn't move to obey that order, but I can his eyes shift to the side quickly as if he can see my sister and then he returns to stare at me.

"Alana, listen to me, please." I start.

"Kas-."

"Listen to me." I stop her more sternly. She closes her mouth, but her face remains uncertain and hesitant. "I know what you've heard about Daria's people, but you have to understand that she's not dangerous. If she was, do you think that I'd be alive still now? Don't you think she would've tried to kill me by now?"

Alana shifts her gaze down in thought to the floor. I want patiently, hoping my words will get through to her; wishing for a miracle. Her eyes bore into me, skeptical and unbelieving, and then shift to Daria who still stands like a statue behind me.

"This is all a bunch of nonsense. The girl is a killer and a trespasser. Either she dies in jail or she dies by my sword. If I have to, then I cut through you as well, boy." Foe scoffs.

My sister turns sharp eyes at him. "You will do no such thing or I'll have you thrown in jail along with her, Foe. Drop your sword. NOW!"

Foe does just the opposite and thrusts his blade forward. I'm about to move out of the way and drag Daria with me, but she's suddenly not behind me anymore.

Her body appears in front of me and she kicks her foot high, knocking the blade clean out of his grasp. I swear I can hear something crack in response.

Foe cries out in pain, grabbing his wrist, and falls to his knees.

Daria, draws her knife out again and bares it to his throat.

"Stop it." I grab her hand, gently, and she pauses.

My sister, taken back by the action, glances down at Foe's fallen blade and slowly goes over to pick it up, holding it loosely in her hand. I know she's never used a sword before because she doesn't care for them. She says they only bring about more pain.

"That's enough. Guards, put Foe away into the dungeon." Alana sighs. I can hear conflicting emotions behind the order. Her eyes are dark and downcast with a slight anger building up behind them. "Make sure he's chained up as well."

"Alana! What are you doing? She's a killer!" Foe tries to argue.

She holds up her hand, closing her eyes so she doesn't have to look at him. "Then my brother would be dead by now."

Daria glances up with her stone cold eyes at my sister and Alana just gazes back with the same emotionless stare.

"Daria, was it? My brother told me that you have...saved his and his friend's lives many times since your journey began." Alana falls her knees and bows her head, her dark hair falling over her shoulders to hide her face. "I want to ask you to forgive me for judging you before finding the truth out for myself. Thank you for taking care of my brother and keeping him safe. If there's anything I can do to make it up to you then please name it."

Personally, I'm surprised at her. She's never been one to apologize so easily. I've never seen her do so this fast. That's when I remember the expression of shock that had crossed her face when Daria had knocked Foe's blade away and saved my life yet again. I glance at the girl next to me. Out of now where, right before my eyes, she no longer looks like a girl out looking for adventure. She looks like a woman looking for revenge.

"You can make sure that Lani and Aron are released safely." Daria tells her.

"Done." Alana answers quickly without a moment of hesitation.

Daria glances at me for a split second. "I need my horse back."

"Done." My sister repeats.

Again, Daria pauses. "And I want you to get off your knees. You don't have any reason to bow before anyone, especially a person like me."

Alana looks up in surprise before a guard near here helps her to her feet.

"I'll have your horses brought to you right away. They'll be waiting for you outside."

"Where's the exit out of the canyon?" Daria asks, pushing Foe away and slipping her blade back into the sheath hidden away around the top edge of her pants.

"Kas will show you the way out." Alana smiles gently.

Daria glances at me then back at her with a slightly confused look. I don't think right now she has the energy to be confuse; her face has had too much time to settle into that look of stone cold anger.

"I'm going with you, you know. I promised Tamina that I'd get you safely to the Scar of the Heavens and I keep my promises." I answer, smiling at my sister. She nods in agreement.

"I couldn't stop you if I tried. You've always been the rebel in the family." She chuckles.

Two guards approach her side and one whispers in her ear before handing her a long box.

"I see." She nods. "Your horses have been fed and watered and have been brought to the entrance. You will need these I expect." She holds out the box and Daria approaches her slowly. A few of the guards shift uncomfortably, but other than that there's no hostility.

Daria opens the box that Alana holds up in her arms and she draws out her two thin swords, which I have never seen unsheathed, her chain whip which she ties to her side, her smaller dagger that ties around her ankle, and small belt that I have a quick glimpse of for a second-something shiny lines the inside of it. Are those crystals?

"Thank you." Daria answers stiffly.

"You need to hurry if you want to make it to the mountains. It'll take three days to get there if you stop, but it would take a shorter time if you don't."

"I'm going home." Daria cuts her short before she can finish her sentence.

Alana nods slowly. "I see. I can understand your need to make sure, but please be careful."

"We will." I grab Daria wrist, give my sister a hug and then we make our way up the stairs that travel towards the exit. The winding stair case carved into the rocks are easy to travel so we're out into the hall like entrance before long. A guard meets us, holding our five horses by the reins. They've been tied, evenly divided, to Pilfer and my horse who I have yet to name still.

"The leader asked me to let you know that previsions have been stocked in your saddle bags, so the need for supplies shouldn't be too worrisome for at least a week. Good luck on your journey."

I nod my thanks and mount my horse. Daria does the same, glancing up at the tall rock towering above us before taking off. The ride is slower than expected since we're towing the other horses, but the animals do fine keeping up.

I ride alongside her, calling as we go. "There's an underground cave that burrows beneath the ground and comes up under some ruins nearby. That's how they kept the entrance a secret."

She nods and slows down a bit to follow me, the horses behind her neighing in response. I let my eyes scan the wall of the canyon beyond and I spot the cave entrance in a second. No one would be able to see it from above because the rocks make a slight incline above it, making it invisible to the eye from above.

The road dips a little before we enter and then darkness takes us in. When my eyes adjust, I find the split in the road and take a right. This tunnel twists and turns left and right as it winds its way up towards the surface. We finally break through and race out into the night, leaping over the fallen pillars that hide the entrance. From here, Daria takes the lead and heads back around to the canyon wall. Pretty soon, a small bright, warm light catches my attention.

"Guys?" A voice calls as we ride up. It's Sama. I can tell. Wow, it's been a while.

"Where have you been?" Arsalan demands.

"Did you find-?" Firuz cuts off his question when he spots me. "Oh, good."

"Daria? Are you okay?" Sama takes a few steps towards her friend who ignores her to dismount and free the horses tied to her own. I do the same, glancing cautiously at her. Apparently, she's still in her distant mood. It's strange to me. It's like I don't know her.

"Daria?" She touches her shoulder, but the girls still ignores her, climbing back onto Pilfer.

"I'm going home." She announces.

"What?" Sama gasps.

"I thought we weren't making side trips." Firuz states.

I shake my head at him. "We found out that her village may have been attacked."

Sama freezes to a halt and stares at me, her face becoming serious. "What do you mean? Attacked? That's impossible." She shakes her head in defiance.

"Not for the Hassassins." Daria states, kicking her horse into a run.

"Wait up!" Sama, Firuz and Arsalan quickly mount and we take off after her.

* * *

We've been traveling, slow and fast, nonstop for hours. I know the horses are tired, but I can't seem to slow down anymore. I think Sama has tried to speak to me, but I can't hear her. The anger and fury are pounding too loud in my ears; making every sound around me go silent. I don't care right now. All I care about right now is getting to my village and finding out the truth. Something isn't right about this. Hassassins? Really? I always thought they were myths, stories. That is until Dastan told me about them from all his stories. Even then, I thought 'well, they're all dead now', but now I'm not so sure.

I take in a deep breath, breathing in the thick sandy air around me. The mountains had met us with harsh winds and no shade, but I keep going. The others behind me don't have to follow. I didn't invite them in the first place.

"Daria! We have to find another way around! These winds are way too strong!" Sama yells from behind me. For some reason, these words are brought to my ears and I pull Pilfer to a stop. If we head up the mountain side now, the winds would just push us back, but if we don't go now, then we'll have to take the long way up and I don't want to waste any time. I stare up the mountain, thinking. What to do? Long way or be blown down?

With a sigh, I turn Pilfer down the mountain side and head for the lower path. She jumps down the two foot drop with ease and the others follow my lead. Now heading down, my eyes scan the rock side for the longer pathway that would take us around. Up here, foreigners wouldn't know right from left, or a path from a pile of rocks, but to me, this is all familiar territory; even though it's been years since I've been home. I spot it, a dip in the path as it lowers under a rocky arch, heading into the mountains.

'Here I come.' I think to myself, the anger and need for revenge resurfacing like oil in water. I turn Pilfer and give her a light kick until her hooves clip the rocks and break into a slow run.

Sama and the others pick up on the change and hurry to follow. I glance back only once to make sure they didn't fall behind and then turn back around. The path curves down into a narrow pathway, the ways nearly ten feet high, but I stop to a halt when I come over the hill.

The pathway is blocked by a recent landslide of boulders and spiky rocks of all shapes.

"Daria...this was the way in...wasn't it?" Sama asks, stopping right behind me.

"They blocked it." I mumble to myself mostly.

"But why? That's what I don't get."

"It's a defense. If the sentries spot approaching enemies, they block off the main entrance." I turn Pilfer around and head back out, her hooves leaping back down onto the lower path and continuing around the bend for a good ways. The second entrance is around here somewhere; we made sure it was well away from the main entrance in case we did have enemies who tried to dig through the landslide. I stop, coming to a ledge overlooking a small valley in the rocks.

Sama pulls her horse up next to mine. "Do you think it's still there?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Why wouldn't what be?" Kas pulls his horse up on my other side.

"The emergence exit. It leads directly into the village outskirts." I explain, not bothering to look at either of them. From behind me I can hear Firuz and Arsalan muttering to themselves, but this too I place out of my mind. I move the group farther down into the valley, glancing around to make sure there wasn't anyone around to see us. If I entered the village this way and the enemy was still around then I would be practically inviting them in for tea and cookies.

When Pilfer hits the dirt again, finally out of the blowing wind and dusty air, I hop down dragging her with me.

It should be here. Somewhere. I've only ever used this entrance once and that was only because the trainers wanted the kids to know where it was in case there ever was an attack. I don't think any of my people expected that they actually would be.

My mother, father, and sisters. Were they okay? Were they alive? I find a hole in the rocks laying around in piles against the mountain base and release my horse so that I can get a look inside. 'Perfect.'

I climb up a little so that I can place my back against the stable rocks and push aside the loose ones with my feet. They crackle and shift slowly until two fall off the tops with loud clashes.

"Look out!" Sama warns, pulling her horse back away as the rocks go tumbling by. The horses neigh uncomfortably, but stay put as best as they can. I work my way down, pushing away at the rocks until they finally give way and reveal the door behind them. Nearly eight feet tall and woven together from strong gum trees that are found rarely throughout the mountain peaks, the door shakes from the rumbling of the rocks that roll away with heavy bounds. I drop the ground and wrap my fingers around the prison-like cell doors, crisscrossing to make tinier squares, and shake it a little. It stands strong, but a small rattling noise reveals to me where the latch is. Sure you could burn the door down, but what fun would that be?

I reach over to the far left side, about a foot from the ground, and release the latch, repeating the same action on the other side before I push it through and it lifts up from the floor. I don't expect to hold it up as the others come through because it's way too heavy, but I can remedy that. I find the long piece of wood somewhere in the shadows with my free hand and use it to prop open the door. Sama leads the horses and our companions inside behind her while Pilfer strolls in as slow and leisurely as she can. I ignore her obvious attitude and latch the door closed after they're all through. I hop onto Pilfer and lead them all through the tunnel. We come out onto a ledge that leads around the mountain side.

Sama starts looking around in wonder. This is her first time being in my village.

"Hey, that's the main entrance." She points down into the canyon below us, about a fifteen foot drop to the ground below, and sure enough there are the fallen rocks that had blocked the main path with a landslide. "Wow, that is so cool. Can I use this secret path for myself now?"

I don't answer. My eyes are focuses forwards, trying hard to look beyond the rocks beyond that block my sight from seeing my village. The sun is just about to peek over the mountain tops.

The path finally declines down to meet the main path and our horses follow along it without being lead. I push Pilfer into a fast run now, not caring about the others. I have to know.

The path curves and opens wide to reveal the village, built deep into the mountain valley. My eyes go wide in horror.

"Oh my..." Sama's voice dies off.

'No...' My thoughts are like whispers to the dead. My village is gone, torn to shreds, and left to lie in the streets. The buildings are smoking with arrows and spears jutting out of them; Hiten weapons. The dirt is stained dark here and there, but from blood or fire oil I don't know.

There are no bodies, at least none that I can see.

There's no sign of life, no screams or shouts from survivors that I had prayed were still here. Nothing.

The village is gone.

I barely register my own body moving, sliding off to dismount. I barely feel my feet as they walk down the path to bring me closer to the decimated world below that was my home for so long. Why hadn't they called to me? Why hadn't I been here?

My mouth goes even drier as I walk through the streets, my nose burning from the smoke and burning smell of death all around me like a fog that refuses to fade. My eyes burn, but I don't care to notice.

Everything is gone.

Everyone is gone.

I feel like the last.

* * *

_Again, all the town names and geography is made up. I'm lazy like that._

_Well, there you have it! All is gone...gone...gone...gone...gone..._

_Ahem! Alright let's move ahead now._

_Again, thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted, and commented! I welcome more advice._

_:D_

_Please review and enjoy!_


	11. Chapter 11: Emotions

_Okay, so the destructs of Daria's home has been announced, but what will she do? Leave and carry on with her mission? Abandon her mission to stay with the destroyed remains thus taking a chance of having the gods get angry and destroy everything sooner? Or will she have to make a choice that she doesn't want in the first place?_

_It's all here in this chapter…and guess who returns?_

_Find out now!_

_(Geez, I sound like a commercial spokes person…BLEH!)_

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_(__**Disclaimer**__: I do __NOT__ own Prince of Persia or their characters. Only Daria, Sama, and any new characters who show up are mine. The Aeon bracelet belongs to me, Blue Rowan, and her sister. The storyline also belongs to me.)_

_

* * *

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*Chapter 11*

I finally give up. There's no one left here. I've walked for long enough; I've seen enough. I don't want to be here anymore. It's too painful. I stop in the center of the street and drop my head. I can't even breath right anymore; the smoky air and the burning smell is blistering my lungs. I take one last deep breath and decide to take one last look at what's left of my home.

What I find doesn't help.

My back hits the destroyed building behind me and heat swells inside me painfully as disbelief punches me square in the gut. My parents. Two of our elders. Held high onto stakes, tied to them by ropes of some strange red bindings. Their bodies are nothing but burnt corpses now, still in one piece but dead. The four bodies were burned alive. I know this; the awful smell was coming from here. Burning flesh.

Someone's arms wrap around me as I fall to the ground, tears as hot as acid leaving trails of fire on my face. I let out my hatred, my screams fill the air. I release my sadness, my tears soak the blood stained ground beneath me. I scream and scream, not caring who hears or who comes. My people were taught against bottling up our emotions. It's only right for those in mourning to release their cries. A hand rubs my head, rocking me gently.

How long has it been since I've cried?

How long has it been since I felt this kind of pain?

I can't remember and I don't care. It's all I can feel, it's all I can know right now. Whether I want it or not.

A sound cracks from nearby and I jerk my blurred vision around, ready to kill the person who had done this. I wanted to hear them scream this time. They deserved to die. My glare lands on a face I had only seen from my past when I had lived here.

"D-Daria..." Her voice is small, trembling, and scared. "My parents...I can't...where are they...?" She asks. Nami, the elder's daughter. One of the elders who is hanging here before me.

'No!' I rip myself out of the arms holding me and rush at her. She can't see this sight. She won't be able to handle it. She's too young.

I push her to a halt, wrapping my arms around her and falling to my knees so that I can bury her smudged face into my shoulder, hiding her eyes.

"It's fine." I breathe, trying to get my voice stable, but it's just as rocky as hers.

"My parents...Where are they? Tell me!" She cries, gripping my shirt hard and crying out harder than I had. Her tears mix with mine, two cries that echo the same grief. "I want my mommy... Mommy! Daddy!"

"Shh...it's okay. It's okay." I chant to her, rocking softly just as the other body that had held me had done. Why did this come to us? Why now?

* * *

"Daria, we have to move. They could still be around." Sama whispers softly to me. I'm still frozen here, staring down at the small child in my arms. She's about ten years old now, I believe. Nami would probably never recover from this. If she does it will take a long time for her to. "Daria?"

I nod, not trusting my voice, and stand up, picking Nami up into my arms. We'd taken shelter in a falling hut near the bodies of my parents and the two elders, one of them being Nami's father. Her mother was probably in a pile of bodies somewhere in the center of the village, but I don't think I can handle going anywhere near there right now. We'd have to check one place first before we do anything else. It's a safe house. We'd be safe there for a while.

I'm about to take a step towards the door, but something bars my path.

"Let me take her." Kas says, holding out a torn blanket across his arms.

Somehow, his hands find their way under my arms and wrap around Nami's body. At first I don't know what to do, then a flash of defensive anger boils through me and my grasp tightens on her. He freezes watching me carefully, but when I find no harmful intent in his stare, I loosen up and he takes her from me. Sama wraps an arm around my shoulder and we step back out into the filthy air. It'll take days for the smell to go away and for my courage to come back, but I'm not leaving until the bodies of my people are laid to rest. The gods can wait for their stupid bracelet.

The bracelet...

I stop. My gaze drops to my still bandaged arm. The thing seems to pulse from underneath it. It's been days since I actually stopped to think about it.

I lift my free hand and grab the bandages around my wrist firmly. I pause for only a second before I finally start ripping away. The white wraps fall to the ground around my feet, brushing my ankle.

Sama stares at me, but I don't really care.

When the bracelet is finally uncovered, I drop my hand away. The stones gleam a new in the sunlight now high above the mountain peaks. The sand within each of the gems seems to speak to me. This thing is revolved around time. It could change it too.

"Don't." Sama's hand covers the bracelet and I turn to stare at her in shock. She'd stop me from wanting to save my people? Why would she do that?

"It's not right. I know it's hard, but think about it for a minute. Don't do anything crazy. You're confused right now and hurt, I understand, but that's not a good reason for you to try anything with this bracelet. Give it a few days, please." She says gently as if her words would crack me like glass.

I gaze back down at the bracelet. Alright, I'll wait, but not forever.

She takes my hand and together the group moves silently through the shadows, back towards the entrance into town. No, this is the wrong way. I stop, pulling Sama with me.

"What?"

I look back over my shoulder. The safe house is in the opposite direction. I take a few steps forward and reach for Nami. Kas gives her up to me in puzzlement and I head off along the out skirts of the village, following along the canyon wall around it. We finally come to a small hut a few steps away from the village and I go straight up to the door. I knock twice and then hit the bottom of the door with my foot three times, waiting.

I can feel the others behind me stare at me as if I've gone insane. I probably have. Why would I believe that someone would answer? They're all dead.

Sighing, I shift Nami in my arms so that I can free my hand and reach up for the top of the door. I could get in if I just move a small latch right...

Something moves. I heard something. Inside the hut. Something had shifted. I pause, leaving my hand floating there in mid-air. Great, now I'm hearing things.

Again, something moves and then suddenly a small rectangular opening in the door, used as a peek hole, slides open in a snap. My eyes go wide.

The two, wrinkled, gray eyes glare at me for only a split second before they too widen, but in recognition versus my shock.

The peek hole slams shut, a few clicks from on the other side of the door sound, and then an elderly man rips open the door quickly.

"Daria?" He breathes. "It is you!" His eyes fall to Nami. "Nami too? Thank the heavens above! Come in, come in, quickly!" He motions me inside and then pulls Sama and the others in too right behind me. The hut is small, not really a comfortable fit for seven people. Kas stands nearest to me and the old man moves around him, causing him to press against my left arm, and then he fumbles over to the back wall and presses against it. Like a swivel door, it pops open, revealing a pathway leading into the mountain.

"Daria, lead them down. I will close the door behind us."

Something in the old man's words has my heart sprinting. Shifting Nami carefully, I duck down into the dark, narrow pathway and follow it down until it opens back up at the top of a wooden staircase that spirals down. Torches light the way here, so it's easier to see.

Behind me, Kas groans and mumbles something about the stairs. I head down as quickly as I can with Nami in my arms. When I hit the bottom, I gasp. Two young men, both familiar to me, come directly up to me after jumping to their feet.

"What's going-?" The tallest one of them jolts to a stop. "Daria?"

"No way! Look at you! Geez, you've grown since you left."

"Jahani." I breathe. He's alive. He had been one of my training partners back in our weapon sparing lessons. "Vol." I turn to the other young man who still stares at me in disbelief.

"You're…you're alive." He finally gets out, but it's more shock than relief that I hear in his voice. I'm not surprised, we never really got along that well.

"As are you guys. I thought…" I let my gaze fall to Nami's face. "I thought you all were dead." I breathe a sigh of relief again only this one is heavier. I suddenly feel light headed for some reason.

"We can discuss later." The old man says, coming up beside me. "Let's move into the bigger room." He brushes a hand over Nami's head and then leads me forward farther down the shorter hall and into the larger round room beyond. Around the room, large rectangular holes are dug out and form beds stacked two high into the wall. I remember this room well. As one of our lessons, we were placed in this room alone for a month to train us on how to survive on small rations of food and water.

I failed three times in a row.

"Nami?"

A woman's voice pulls me out of the past. I turn to my right.

"Nami!" The woman engulfs her arms around the girl in my arms and she pulls her away from me. I give her up. "Nami! Nami, honey?"

The small girl twitches a little and then slowly opens her eyes. "Mommy? Mommy!" When she blinks her eyes clear and sees the woman holding her, she jerks awake and circles her arms around her neck tightly.

The woman looks up at me and her eyes fill with hope. "My husband? Did you see him too?"

Pain slams into my gut and I suddenly can't look at her anymore. Sadly, my gaze falls to the floor. I can hear her sob and bury her face into her daughter's shoulder, turning away to go and sit on one of the beds built into the wall. A hand settles onto my shoulder.

"Are you sure you didn't see him? Did you see any of the elders? What about your parents?" Jahani asks.

I jerk away and walk out of the room. I don't want to think about what I saw. I just want to know what happened. "Dabir, talk. You know more than I do. What happened here?" I ask, stopping cold in the previous room where Vol and the rest of my group are still standing.

His old gray eyes, full of wisdom like all teachers, become older and more pained. He does know. "It was early morning when they came. I had never seen anything like them before. It's like they…weren't human at all."

As he spoke, something told me to close my eyes so I obeyed. As he spoke, the blackness I saw behind my eye lids changed, bursting into colors. I'm about to gasp, but the faces of people I know kept me from doing so. My parents.

I could see it all happening as Dabir spoke and the vibrating across my wrist lets me know that this vision was the bracelets doing.

"They came like shadows, dressed in all black, and somehow found a way into the village even though we blocked the exit. All the elders called our warriors together and placed them at the entrance to block their way in while the other teachers and I got the towns people hidden inside the houses near the back side of town."

I see it all play out before me. The echoing screams of battle, the dying cries of death. Four black forms tear through our wall of fighters as if they are nothing and then start laying waste to our village. My parents, along with the elders and younger in-training warriors, fought back, but they too were knocked aside like rag dolls. I flinch and try not to scream as I see my mother thrown to the ground, blood seeping out of her chest and my father rushing to her side. A single black figure grabs my father by the arm and some dark magic, red as blood, swirls around his torso, locking his arms to the sides of his body. The rest of the elders and my mother were bound the same way and then tied up onto tall posts into the air. With a snap of his fingers, another black figure walks away, leaving the still breathing prisoners to burn alive on their stakes as they walked away to take care of the rest of the villagers. Their agonizing screams breaking the already war-stripped morning.

I rip open my eyes and gasp heavily, falling back onto the wall behind me for support. The bracelet stops vibrating. Sama comes to my side and wraps her arms around me to give me extra support. I need it more than anything right now; my legs are shaking too hard.

"They came and started burning the houses where the villagers were hiding, but some of us got out and came here to the safe house. We've been here ever since, hoping any survivors would come and join us, but…no one did. We've been down here for several days now." He finishes his story.

"The elders fought back."

"You say that as if they didn't make it." Vol responds to my shaken voice with that stern tone that I haven't heard in a long time. I glance up at him.

"I saw their bodies, along with my parents, hung up on stakes. They were burned alive." I tell him. Both he and Dabir take a step back, but the old man falls into a nearby chair.

"Oh no…" He drops his head into his hands.

All goes silent for a long time. My gaze locks with the bracelet on my arm and I start thinking back on my decision. Could I somehow get this thing to turn back time so I could stop all this? Could I even help?

Sama's arms tighten around me.

"We'll wait until tomorrow morning to go up top." Dabir tells us after a long while, getting shakily back to his feet; his voice is no different-tired and worn by sadness and grief. "Right now, let's just get something to eat and settle down for a while. We all need to take a break from all this. For now at least…"

I wait for everyone to enter into the room before I follow behind a second later. I really don't want to go in, mostly because I can feel the hostility falling off Vol in waves, but I know I have to. Sama's right; I can't make any drastic decisions right now. I'll get some sleep and think about it later.

After coming into the room once more, where candles light the room in a warm, but low light, I climb into one of the cubby holes for beds and curl up, letting my back face the room. Sleep doesn't come easy. Visions of my village outside and the one's that the bracelet had shown me flash quickly through my mind. It's too much for me to handle. It's giving me a headache.

Not a second before my eyelids finally grow heavy, someone throws a blanket over me and I listen to their footsteps as they walk away. Sleep takes me by the hand then and leads me away into a slumber filled with nightmares and tears.

* * *

I wake up to voices.

How long have I been asleep?

I open my eyes sleepily, trying to figure out what the voices are saying through my grogginess. I can hear them, so they must be whispering low. Something moves near me and I pop my eyes open wider, the sleepy haze dissipating in an instant. Someone's sitting on my bed side. Is it Sama?

My question is soon answered when I hear Sama's low snores from above me. Even through the thick foot of dirt I can hear her. I roll my eyes which are still sore.

"I see. So that's what happened." Dabir sighs. "She's changed so much since I saw her last. It's been nearly six years since she left here."

"She doesn't speak much of herself so I wouldn't know. We're only here to guard her until we reach the Scar." Kas tells him.

Kas? I want to move and kick him off my bed, but his next words stop my planned assault.

"After that though...I'm not sure."

Not sure? What'd that mean?

"Are you going to stay with her and Sama?"

He chuckles. "Yeah, right. As if she'd let us. Even if we did want to stay, we wouldn't be able to handle it. Arsalan and Firuz aren't desert boys. We live off the cities and towns nearby."

"I see." The conversation goes dead for another long moment. "So this bracelet you spoke of..."

"Sorry. I can't say anything or she'll have my head." Kas chuckles again.

I move then, shifting so that I'm sitting next to him on the edge. He's about to says something but I cut him off. "It's called the Aeon." I tell them. "I don't really know how strong it is myself, but I do know that it has the power of Time. Already, it's shown me into the future, so I know it's got lots more power behind it."

"The future? Do you think that-?"

"I already beat you to it, Dabir. I was planning on going back into time and stopping...what happened, but Sama's right. Even if I did go back, what could one person added to the battle line do? I'd probably be killed just like everyone else."

"And then those that survived would die anyway when the gods decided to destroy everything." Kas adds.

For a second I want to glare at him, but I don't. He's right. Those left behind would suffer even more than those killed by the Hassassins. Sadly, it's better this way. I can still stop others from having to suffer to. My blood runs cold just trying to think about what it would be like; my body shivers uncomfortably.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Kas move, leaning back and grabbing the blanket that had covered me before and then draping it around my shoulders. I glance at him, nodding my thanks. Since when is he nice to me? I'm shocked really.

When I turn back, I see Dabir staring between us with a strange look in his eyes. "Well," He quickly changes the subject before I can ask what the look is for, "What do you plan on doing now, Daria?"

"What are you asking me for?" I ask, leaning my head to the side a bit in sleepy confusion. I'm too worn to really have any energy for big emotional changes right now.

He gets up, heading towards me, and reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a tight woven necklace with gold and colored beads around the entire circle. My eyes widen in knowing and instantly I pull my hands back. There is no way on earth-!

"Take it, Daria. By our laws, if all Elders are killed, the children or existing family members must take their place." He grabs my wrist and places the necklace into my hands as he wraps it around a dagger he also draws from his waist. Both items are the traditional objects that the village Elders carry with them at all times. Dabir must have made the new necklace while I was sleeping, he's always been good at stuff like that, and he must have gotten the knife from one of the Elders before they had sent him away with the villagers. As if made from lead, the objects weigh down my hand to rest heavily in my lap, pinning it there as I stare at it in confusion and horror.

"Oh, hell no!" A voice snaps.

I look up to see Vol jump out of the top cubby hole on the other side of the room and land on the ground. He storms over to us and stops by Dabir's side. "Are you insane? She doesn't deserve to be the new Elder! She left her people, abandoned her family name, and then shows up out of nowhere right when the Elders are killed off? Sounds too convenient to me! She's just here to be Elder! She isn't one of us anymore so there's no way she should be allowed this high of an honor! She's an outsider now!"

His words hit home, piercing my heart like a blade. If it was real, I'd be dead now in an instant. At least…I felt that way. My eyes close and I lower my head, my hair covering my face. He's right.

"Vol, you know as well as I do that she left on her own accord. If Samuel returned you would let him take his place would you not? She is no different. She was born and raised here. Her blood runs through our veins as well as ours through hers. We are all that's left of this village and there is no room for anger or hate towards those who made their life decisions. Do not punish her for that. She returned to us and that's all that matters now."

"You're crazy!" Vol shouts, effectively waking up everyone in the room now.

"Enough." I say calmly, getting to my feet. "Dabir, he's right. I left the village, I tore myself from my family and their name. Whether I want it or not, I'm not a Hiren anymore. An outsider isn't allowed to become an Elder. It's against our laws and you know that." I lift my eyes, completely blank of all emotion so that I won't give away how angry I am, and I stare at my old teacher.

"Daria." Sama whispers from behind me softly.

"Who's laws, Daria?" Dabir asks, giving her a knowing look.

"Ours! Who else? She isn't a Hiren, she said so herself, so it's either me or Jahani who are in line until Nami is old enough to take her place as Elder."

"Listen to yourself, Vol!" Dabir raises his voice. "You talk as if the Hiren are all still alive. I know that we are the only ones left, but Daria is seeing the truth of it all where as you are letting your hatred and jealousy towards her cloud your vision. We are all that's left. It is true that Nami is still too young to be Elder and until she is of age, I refuse to let her carry this burden, but as of right now, Daria is the only other one here who is of Elder descent. Whether she accepts the consequences of leaving or not, she is still closer to the position than either of you boys. It is only right, by our laws, that she take her place."

"So you're taking her side!" Vol points at Daria and spits out the word 'her' as if it's a disease.

"Do not make me out to be something I am not, boy." Dabir challenges. "I wouldn't want either of you to carry this burden yet because you are much too young, but what other choice do we have? Asal will have the choice to take her husband's place if she so chooses as well, so I am not taking sides."

Vol glances at Nami and then her mother who are sitting by watching silently with worried looks on their faces and then at Jahani who glances at everyone else sheepishly as if he doesn't want anything to do with the argument. His annoyance grows and grows until Daria feels it hitting her in waves all the way on her side of the room.

He finally cracks. "You don't deserve this!" He yells, pointing at her again. "You left! You chose to dirty the name of the Hiren and leave! Traitors like you shouldn't be here! I know what you came back for and I refuse to let you take the Elder position!"

"You think you can do better, Vol?" I finally can't take it anymore. His anger is going too far. I may have left but I'm not a traitor and I'm not going to stand by and let him talk to me like I am one. I lift the dagger, the Elder necklace that is regarded as sign of bravery and honor in my village wrapped around its blade, and hurl it at him. He takes a step back in horror, his back hitting the wall, and the dagger tip embeds into the wall right next to his head. He breathes heavily in shock.

"Yes, I left! I wanted to leave! I didn't want to be under the thumb of anyone who bought us to do their dirty work! I know it was our way of life, but I didn't want it! I didn't want to see my people threatened by disease, rape, war, or anything else this world decided to throw at us. I chose to live for something better and so far I've done pretty good! If you think you can lead our people into a better future then go ahead, but I will not let you run my life through the mud and make me look like the fool here. I wanted a change for the better so I went for it! I'm living for myself and the people I care about now instead of for the buyers and those who hired us! I chose my freedom. What you do with your life is your own business!" When my words are finally over, when my anger is finally flowing free out of my body, when I can no longer stand the sight of him, I spin on my heel and storm out of the room, grabbing my whip from the chair outside the door, and climb the stairs that lead out of the safe house. The thick, death filled air welcomes me back outside, poisoning my lungs, but I don't care. I'm too furious to notice. I fall to my knees and breathe heavily, trying to calm myself down. My whip falls out of my hands and lands on the ground next to me as my palms hit the dirt. My fingernails dig into the earth, stinging from being pulled, but I hardly detect it. My head is light again, swirling with so many emotions that I can't think straight. I don't recall ever being this mad in before in my life.

I squeeze my eyes shut, not wanting to see anything anymore. I don't want to be here. I want this all to go away. I need to burn some energy now before I explode.

"Hmm…poor child." A deep, silken voice chuckles like the dark itself. Recognition hits me hard and my heart rate speeds up on instinct. "What are you doing out here and so…alone?" He chuckles louder now, as if my pain and suffering is amusing to him. He did all this. He caused it all.

The bracelet on my wrist seems to be reacting to me, burning again into my skin, but I don't feel it at all. I only feel the all-consuming rage that pounds through my body, throbbing in my ears in time with my heart beat. My eyes burn now as I open them and turn my glare on him.

It's him. The one dressed in all black that had threatened the people of Kamin.

His sleek smiles only widens in enjoyment. "A bit mad are we?" His hand, in a flash that is too quick of her eyes, shoots out to his side and his own whip appears, its black barbed edges gleaming in the sunlight. His smile widens.

With another flash, he snaps his weapon forward but sadly for him, my anger has made my adrenaline higher than it needs to be and my speed is just a tad bit faster. I rip my whip off the ground and snap it forward at him as well. Our weapons collide, knocking away from each other and back towards us.

His smiles widen again and sharp, almost fang-like, teeth shine in the sunlight from above.

'Fine. If it's a fight he wants, then it's a fight he's gonna get.' Are the last thoughts that run through my mind before I throw myself forward.

* * *

_WOOT! More fighting to be had in the next chapter that I promise won't take me this long to update. I feel like I abandoned y'all there for the longest time (darn you, writers-block!) but I can assure you it won't happen again. :D_

_Now, once more, all town names and geography is made up out of my lazy imagination because I'm too hard-headed and…well, lazy to bother looking any of it up. Sooooo sorry, but please bare with me._

_Again, thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted, and commented! I welcome more advice. And also thanks to those who read as well!_

_Please continue on with my story and review with all the help you can give! (I love me some reviews!)_


	12. Chapter 12: Pyres

_Wow I just realized what a bad cliffhanger I left the story on so here's my make up apology!_

_Hope you like! I made this chapter specially for all you wonderful reviewers, so please enjoy._

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_(__**Disclaimer**__: I do __NOT__ own Prince of Persia or their characters. Only Daria, Sama, and any new characters who show up are mine. The Aeon bracelet belongs to me, Blue Rowan, and her sister. The storyline also belongs to me.)_

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* * *

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*Chapter 12*

I sit back down on the bed where Daria had been sleeping soundly at last after nearly three hours of tossing and turning through her nightmares. I had watched her silently from near the center of the room in a chair that Dabir had offered me.

I had tried to sleep, but that tired feeling wouldn't come. I was too keyed up to sleep. How could I after all that I'd witnessed?

I had never seen Daria that way before; screaming her lungs out in agony and crying as if the world was coming to an end. For a while, I thought it would. The way she stared at the Aeon for the longest time, I was scared that she would do something reckless and then cause an up roar with the big guys we were taking the bracelet to. Deep down, I was afraid she would disappear…or something worse.

Her eyes had sent fear racking through my body when she had gone off on the young man named Vol. She looked so much different, so angry, as if she was beyond lost.

"You should've just kept your mouth shut, Vol." The one called Jahani says, continuing the conversation that has been going on since Daria left not five minutes ago.

Vol doesn't answer. He climbs into the cubby hole he had been in before and turns his back to the room just like Daria had done when they were told what had happened to the village.

"That's enough, Jahani. The argument is over and done. There is no use bringing it up again until we are ready to speak of it again." Dabir stops the younger boy from continuing.

"There won't be a next time." Sama says, hopping down from her cubby hole. "Daria has had enough pain and suffering to last her a lifetime. It will take her years to get over what happened here and I think it would be better for her to leave now and bring the bracelet to the Scar. After that, after she's had enough time to catch her breath, if she wishes to return here, then I will follow her."

"Me too." Firuz finally talks for the first time since coming into the safe house.

"Same here." Arsalan adds.

"As will I." I put in my vote. For some reason the thought of not being with Daria and Sama anymore left a hallow feeling in my gut. I wasn't ready to part with them yet. Somehow they had become my friends. In my mind, I lay out the trip from here to the Scar. On the map it didn't look that far and I know deep down that even on foot, the trip would be somehow shorter. What would they do after that? Go their own ways? Return to Alamut?

Sama glances at each of us in turn and smiles. That smile is what makes me recall another smile; one that I haven't seen in days. It really has me worrying then.

"We will wait for Daria and then ask her what she wants to do." Dabir says smiling at the group.

Sama faces him. "Alright. When she returns, we'll ask her what she wants to do. I won't make her do anything that she doesn't want to do right now since she's gone through so much." Her face goes serious again; mirroring my worry. "I'm just…having this feeling that she's going to do something bad."

Her words hit me. Daria? Do something bad? No way. Sure she'd do something crazy, but bad? There's no way.

My eyes fall to the floor.

Her face flashes across my mind. Her smiling face as carefree and mischievous like any child out there in the world. I start to really panic then. If Sama is right about her doing something bad, would that smile be the same? Would that smile disappear?

I tear off the bed and race out of the room, Firuz and Arsalan calling after me, but I ignore them all. I can't have that taken from me. Her smile is the one thing that I don't think I could handle being different. That would really mess up the emotional balance of this journey.

I take the stairs two at a time and then quickly spin the swivel door open as I enter into the safe house. All that's left is to get out of the house and back out into the smoky air.

I can hear footsteps coming after me, but I keep running. As the door falls open to my palms as I slam my hands against it, a scream pierces my ears. It's far away, but it's as clear as day, rattling my heart against my chest.

I skid to a stop and look around. Not long later, Sama and my two friends stop behind me. We all go dead silent.

The ground in front of the safe house is the same, barren and lifeless, but something stands out like a cat in a pen of dogs.

Its red; deep, dark red.

"No…" Sama whispers, her eyes falling on the red pool on the ground.

My feet drag the ground slowly as I approach it. My pulse beats louder and louder, filling my ears. I swallow hard. The closer I get, the clearer the red stain on the ground gets, revealing my fears before me.

It's blood.

Lots of it.

Whoever was attacked wouldn't live long.

The scream breaks into the air again, but it's not an agony cry. It's a cry filled with anger and hatred. It's a battle cry to top all battle cries.

"That's Daria!" Sama takes off at the same second I do and together we fly back into the streets of the village.

* * *

I hit the ground again, balancing on my toes as I'm thrown back away from him, scraping up dust as I skid across the ground. My whip drags across the dirt along with me like a long ribbon. As I stop, I reach up and wipe the blood off my face from the thin cut across my cheek from where his barbed whip had torn my skin.

I stand up to survey my work on my opponent. This time, I hadn't held back.

His dark clothes are ripped and shredded along his arms and legs and chest. The black wrap around his neck and shoulders that had trailed down his back like a scarf is nothing but strips of torn and worn cloth thanks to my bladed whip. Under all these torn areas, I know there are deep cuts and gashes dug into his flesh, releasing deep, red, life-giving blood that spills on the ground. Already, the earth around him is stained crimson, forever changed.

I'm surprised he's not out cold by now because he's lost more blood than is needed for a normal person to stay conscious, but I know he's not normal. The way he moves, the way he fights, the sound of his voice; he's beyond abnormal.

Throughout their entire battle he's done his best to keep my chain away from the wrap around his head that covers his eyes. I don't know what it's for, but I don't really care either way. He can keep his eyes; I just want him to suffer.

"Well," He chuckles heavily, "I expected that you were holding back in that run-down town those people called a home, but I didn't expect this much skill."

I lock my jaw. There's no use talking to this animal. He's going to die by my hand, so he can talk all he wants. His words won't do anything to save his life. Lifting my whip, I run my finger down it from the handle until it dangles between each hand and hangs to the ground. I wait for him to take another breath. It'll be his last.

"When we entered this village, I expected a fight, but your people didn't give me anything. It was very disappointing. And then you came, as I planned, and I was hoping for a real challenge. I should thank you for doing that for me." His laugh just gets darker with each second.

My anger peaks and I take off at him, glaring right at his chest where his black heart is. My target. Leaping into the air, I spin my whip through the air and snap it forward as I fall to towards the ground and it wraps around his neck in a flash. I land on my toes again, my legs absorbing the impact. I pull the whip snug and he chokes, falling to his knees. I grab both loose ends of the whip, the handle and the end of the weapon, and pull in both opposite directions making sure it's tight. I glare down at his face, his eyes still hidden behind that blindfold. His teeth clench together tightly as he gags from lack of breath.

'Die! Suffer and get what you deserve!' I can't help but think.

"Daria! Stop!" Sama's voice shatters my thoughts and enters my ears. My grip pauses, keeping the whip tight around his neck. "Stop this! Don't do anything rash." She tells me.

How come she's protecting this worthless creature?

"He destroyed my home." I allow the words to thread with venom.

"I know this." She responds softly.

My grasp squeezes tighter around the whip and the tiny blades that make up its length. "He killed my people, my parents." I snap. "He deserves to die."

"Daria." Kas cuts in. I throw my glare at him, daring him to disagree with me. "Will his death help you get over this? Will killing him make you feel better?" He asks, taking a cautious step towards me. My grip tightens and he stops. "If so, then go ahead. I'm not going to stop you. But I want you to think about it, before you go through with it." His voice lowers and he returns to his place beside Sama who stares at him as if he's insane.

"Are you nuts? We can't just stand by and let her kill someone; even if he is guilty." She grabs his shirt sleeve and tugs hard.

I barely register their argument after that. I'm too busy focusing on how I'm going to kill my enemy. Slow or quickly? Allow him to feel more pain than anything or no? The options race through my mind in a dizzying speed, sending an almost high throughout me.

"Do…it…" The black figure chokes up in a dead whisper, his fingers grasping at the bladed chains around his neck. Those fingers bleed, red; a color that, until now, had just breezed by my attention. I was so fixed on my kill that I hadn't noticed it really. The color is the same as mine; the same as any average human. Life giving and vital. "What are you…waiting for…?" He forces out again after my long pause. Why am I pausing?

Kas's words replay in my thoughts.

"_Will his death help you get over this? Will killing him make you feel better?_"

I blink hard, shaking my head. Of course it would make me feel better!

"_If so, then go ahead. I'm not going to stop you. But I want you to think about it, before you go through with it._"

My jaw locks as I try to hold in my scream of frustration. My hands shake, my thoughts conflicting on whether to pull or not. One pull and it's all over; his death would be short and easy, like cutting through sand or water. Then again, would it really be that easy? Would it be easier for me? I couldn't stop the death brought to my village, but I can stop him from doing the same to someone else. I can stop his life…

But it's not mine to take.

No matter how much I want to kill him, no matter how much he deserves it, it's wrong. Killing is wrong. It's a power that no mortal can posses because it will never rightfully be ours. My people are gone and his death by my hand will do nothing to change that…no matter how badly I want it.

My hands stop shaking and the chains drop from my grasp, going slack around his neck. He doubles over on the ground coughing and spitting up as air reenters his lungs. I stand up to my full height and squeeze my eyes shut.

The arguing near me stops and everything goes still.

'I don't know what I'm doing this for, but Kas is right.' I think to myself.

The bracelet around my wrist begins to vibrate again, glowing warmly, and colors bust behind my closed eyes again. The vision I see is confusing, far off, but I recognize the young woman there instantly.

Sama.

She's smiling widely, a smile I haven't never seen her wear before. It's a happiness I've never seen her have before, but I've seen someone else who has. My mother. She used to wear that smile all the time.

Sama is standing near a blurry figure; tears are shining in the corners of her eyes-something else I have yet to see.

'What does this mean, Aeon?'

I'm answered by a very familiar, echoing laugh in my mind; one I know I've heard before somewhere far underground.

"Daria?" Sama's voice comes softly to me then, breaking the vision apart and leaving me even more confused. I open my eyes slowly and turn them up to look at her. She's about my height, maybe an inch taller. Her face is worried and cautious, but open to me…just like always.

I force out a smile and hers answering one is filled with relief. She engulfs me in a hug and I whisper a silent thank you for having a friend like her; more of a sister than anything else. I don't have the strength to hug her back, I'm too ashamed at myself now, but I incline my head until my forehead rests on her shoulder. She brushes the top of my hair rhythmically and I can practically see her smiling.

"Why…?" Comes a choking voice.

Sama pulls away only a little, enough for me to see past her, and we both look straight at the black masked figure on the ground. Blood covers nearly all of his body, still flowing freely, but it's mostly from around his neck and hands.

"Why didn't you…kill me?"

Sama is about to say something, but I touch her arm and she stops. My eyes never leave the man on the ground before me.

It takes me a long time to uncover the right words, but I eventually find the truth that I had so desperately needed for myself not a minute ago. "Because your life isn't mine to take."

Dabir, Vol, and Jahani come forward then and take the black figure away, most likely to lock him up as a prisoner in the prison keep we have near the safe house.

I leave, followed closely by Sama and the rest of our group as I head back to where my parents and the Elders are hanging. It's time I laid them to rest.

* * *

I come out of the back room, admiring my new clothes that the remaining villagers had given me. It has been two days since we stopped Daria from killing the strange…man in the village. My sister had been right about Daria. She had been holding back a lot.

That black dressed man had been powerful enough to take down a whole village of dedicated and highly skilled fighters and yet she took him down with only a few minor scratches here and there across her. Sama refuses to leave Daria's side now, never letting her have a single moment of alone time to herself, but today she's making an exception.

Dabir told us all that Daria must be kept alone so that she could be with her family for the remaining time; and we've all done so with respect.

"Those look great on you." Asal beams still distant after finding out about her husband's death. She and Nami have both taken these last two days to silently mourn their loss, but this morning she woke all of them up with a soft smile and told them to come try on their new clothes. At first I had asked her if she was alright and she told me that she was much better now, but I didn't want to argue with her further.

We followed her into the back room of the safe house, after they said it was safe for us to move into it, and one by one, we each took our turns going in and out of the small room to change. Arsalan is now dressed in a new dark blue vest, his chest still bare, new dark brown pants with brown boots, and brown leather arm bands decorate his arms.

Firuz's outfit is similar to his old one, but his pants are wide legged around his now black boots. His top is green with wide open short sleeves while belts clasped around it, tucking it inside his pants. Brown fingerless gloves cover his hands.

Sama wears a strapless shirt still with thin draw strings that tie behind her neck, the same style red pants with three different colored wraps for a belt, bare feet except for tied on sandals, and new solid gold arm bands. Her hair is still braided but new shiny red and tan beads hold them in place. She obviously doesn't feel comfortable with the sandals, but she doesn't let Asal see her discomfort.

I'm now dressed in a new v-neck dark red-brown shirt with no sleeves, black pants that stop about mid-calf with leather belts circling my waist, and black boots with clasps on my feet. Black arm bands cover my forearms and then brown fingerless gloves cover on my hands just like Firuz.

"They aren't much different from what you wore before because I just wanted you to have new clothes for your journey, but I'm sorry if it's not what you were expecting." Asal smiles.

"No, no!" I tell her. "These are perfect. Thank you."

Asal smiles again, still tinged with sadness and bows slightly before leaving us there to attend to her daughter. Nami reaches up with open arms as her mother approaches and they disappear back down the stairs together.

I watch them leave.

"Poor woman refuses to leave until all of them are buried." Dabir explains, coming through the door of the safe house. "The attack on our village has left her scarred."

We all turn to him. He's covered in dirt and has a shovel in his hand. He, Vol, and Jahani all left out early this morning to bury their people. Arsalan and Firuz left to help them as well.

"What about..." The sentence fades in the back of my throat. Why should I ask? She's probably still up there.

"She's at the Elder Chamber. The bodies of her parents are still burning even though there wasn't much left to burn." Dabir answers my unfinished question, glancing at me with a measured gaze.

I nod, returning to my work of picking up my clothes. Sama, resting her eyes in the far corner, opens them and gets to her feet.

"Can I go to her now? I don't like leaving her by herself for this long. She might try something again."

"No." Dabir stops her gently. "I'm sorry, but I must ask you to give her time. From the ground I was able to keep an eye on her. She's still there and she's fine. I know it's been nearly two days since she's been up there, but you must be patient until she's ready to return to us."

"Why did you build the Elder Chamber up so high?" I ask the question I have been holding in since they showed us the tall pillar. It's nearly twenty stories high with a grand stone staircase winding around the outside of it to the top where it opens up to a flat surface at the top, covered by a cone-shaped roof. I hadn't seen what was up there, because Dabir told us that it was a quiet place for those in mourning to go and have time to themselves with their loved ones.

"The Elder Chamber was built high so that the ashes of those burned could reach the heavens and so that those mourning their loss could be as close to them as possible. When they are ready to come back down to earth, they are welcomed by the village. We wanted them to have privacy and solitude. It's the only thing we can give them while they mourn." Dabir smiles, setting the shovel to lean against the wall.

I nod again, turning my eyes to the floor. Wouldn't building something that high make it easy for someone to jump and kill themselves if the pain became too hard for them to bear? I don't voice this opinion because Vol enters the room, tossing his shovel to the wall next to Dabir's. He brushes past all of us and disappears down the stairs with a grim look on his face.

"He...needs time as well. Daria's words have shaken him along with the attack on the village."

Sama and I share a look that reads the same thing: 'It should have.'

"Well," Dabir claps his hands together, "I'll start making preparations for dinner."

"Can I help with anything?" Sama asks.

"Can you cook?" Dabir turns a hopeful look in her direction.

"Uh...not very well...but I guess I can learn. I couldn't hurt." She shrugs with a sheepish grin on her face.

Together, they vanish down the stairs next. I can't help, but wonder if all that's happened here has affected Dabir as well too. Then I remember the look that had crossed his face when Daria told them that the Elders were dead. Honestly, I think he's hiding more pain than he lets on.

I'm about to follow them down, but my eye wonder to the door leading outside. Should I...?

'Oh, what the heck?' I think, rolling my eyes. I skip out the door and head into the village. It doesn't take me long to weave my way through the burnt and broken ruins of the small Hiren city and stop at the base of Elder Chamber. Funny name for a pillar, but okay.

My foot pauses on the bottom step. I glance around. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. What if she bites my head off for being up there? Would she have the energy too? I sigh and remove my foot off the step and sit down on it, propping my elbow up on my knees and letting my hands flop lazily out in mid-air.

She wouldn't have the energy to yell, but she'd definitely have the energy to throw something at me...if there's anything around. I lift my head, a hopeful grin starting to form on my face. There's shouldn't be anything up there to throw. She won't have any ammunition.

'Perfect!' I laugh in my mind.

With my thoughts made up, I hop up off the ground and begin the long climb up. By the time I reach the top, my legs are burning and I have to rest a second before finishing the last few steps. They circle around the entire top half of the pillar like a ring, while tall, thinner, pillars hold up the cone roof of the grand tower. In the center are two large, rectangular decorated blocks where fires are blazing big and bright on top. A circular tube is cut all the way up the center of the roof so the smoke can escape.

There's nothing left on the tables except for the alter of burning wood that is placed around the bodies of the dead to help with the burial. No more ash or smell of burning bodies is left here anymore.

I shift my gaze slowly around until I find her. She has her back turned from the pyre, sitting on the ground with her legs underneath her. Her feet are bare and her clothes are much different than what she usually wears. She's dressed in a white, sleeveless top, but her deep tanned skin keeps it from washing her out, and a long white skirt with a cut up one side. Belts of red cloth and gold bands circle her waist while thin gold bracelets dangle on her wrist. Her eyes are closed, her face tilted slightly downward so that the setting sun is warming it gently, giving her a golden hue. The gold accessories gleam in the fading light, sending sparkles of color across her clothes. Her dark brown hair is loose from its usual place, tied up behind her head. The soft curls dance around her shoulders and down to her waist, ruffling gently in the soft breeze that can only be felt up this high.

I take in a deep measured breath. Right about now I'd safe a really smart comment and she'd come running after me with a knife, but things have really changed quickly after I got captured by the thieves and found my sister. Right now isn't a good time to make jokes, but soon...

I shake the thought from my head. I'll worry about annoying her later. After she's out of this shock in her life, then I'll go back to making her mad. I'll miss the fun if I don't.

I take a step towards her and her eyes open slowly, the sun blazing off those golden brown irises like fire. She turns to look at me, her gaze blank. I stop, scratching the back of my head. For some reason, now I feel awkward.

"Um, Sama was worried about you. I figured I come and see if you were okay since she didn't want to disturb you." I stumble out, trying to keep the quiet atmosphere.

"And you did?" She closes her eyes, returning to her meditating state, but I can see the smile there, playing at the edge of her mouth.

"Hey, you know me. Always ready to stir up trouble." I shrug, taking a seat at the edge of the ledge with her and letting my legs dangle over the twenty story drop below (if you don't count the stairs being in the way).

She chuckles softly. "Yeah, that's you alright."

"You know, you're not supposed to agree with me."

She opens one eye to glance sideways at me. "But what fun would that be?"

I return to the laugh, but I can tell she's not back to her normal self. She's still off, distant; drawn into herself. Her laughter isn't full out and her snappy come backs aren't as…snappy. I try not to let this ruin my mood.

"Oh, sorry, I shouldn't be up here disturbing you like this. I just wanted to check on you for Sama." I climb quickly back to my feet.

"Sure you did." She smiles slightly again.

"Yes, I did."

She takes a deep breath, not to cool off her rising anger, just one of content, a sigh almost. "It's fine really. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to talk with someone. I guess I should thank you."

"You guess? Really? I climbed all these blasted steps for a 'guess'? That's cold."

This has her laughing. Not hard, but more openly than she was before. It makes me smiles against my will. Finally, I accomplished something today.

"Okay, I do owe you a thank you." She eventually gets out.

"Well, you're welcome." I fight the urge to sit back down and our conversation fades into a comfortable silence. She stares off into the setting sun while all I can manage to do is stare at my feet. Since when can't I look her in the eyes?

Another soft gust of wind brings noise to the silence along with her soft voice.

"We used to sit up here a lot."

I blink in surprise. "Huh?"

"Me and my family." She corrects herself. "My two sisters would be laughing at how my dad would be teasing my mom and all I could do was laugh too." She smiles at the memory I can't see in her mind. Her eyes turn sad again. "I used to get so annoyed at the those times more than anything because I would've always rather been off practicing fighting skills or playing jokes on the guys, but now that I look back on it…I was…happier during those short family laughs. I just…didn't notice it until now."

She takes another deep, long inhale, this one mostly to steady herself, and then she continues. "You know, I got a hopeful sign today."

"Do tell." I return to my seat next to her.

"I was watching Dabir and the guys burying our people today, but…I didn't see any of my sister's bodies." A sad, but hopeful smile builds up on her face again. "That means…they could still be alive. They're probably out on a job which would have saved them from…all of this. Although, it'll be hard for them…when they return; if they return."

"They will."

She turns to gaze at me, but my eyes are lost in the sky. "The news will reach them like it did you and they'll return home. If you want to wait for them, then I'll stay behind with you."

"You'd stay?" I can hear the surprise in her voice.

"I made a promise to keep you alive until that bracelet was off you didn't I?" I chuckle. "Or don't you remember? Are you getting old already?"

"Hey, you're older than me." She grins.

"They'll handle it fine though. It'll be hard for all of you for a long time, but I promise you the hurt will become manageable after a while. It's easier when you have people around to help you through it."

"You talk as if you have experience."

"I do." I answer. "My grandfather and I were really close before I turned into a pesky thief. When he died, that's pretty much when it all started for me. I couldn't take being around all the pain, so I ran from home and pretty soon I met up with Firuz and Arsalan. I was thirteen when he passed."

"Wow." Daria rubs her arm and stares off at the sky too. "You know, this is really the first time we've actually had a full conversation instead of those short ended arguments we usually have. It's kinda…weird."

"Gee, thanks." I shake my head, leaning back on my hands.

"Nice clothes by the way. Asal does her work well." She glances at my top.

"How'd you know?"

"I grew up here remember? I know her handy work anywhere."

Silence fills the air again. This time it lasts for a long while, giving us time to watch the sun fade into the mountains beyond. From here, we can get a good look at just what it is we're facing when we leave here. The mountains are thick and tall. Maneuvering through them will take days. When the full sun is gone, nothing left but deep oranges and reds painting the sky, she finally talks again.

"We'll be leaving soon; tomorrow, at latest."

"So soon? You don't need more…time? You've only been up here for two days." I ask, wondering if she really wants this. "The others don't mind waiting."

"I'm fine now. My family and my people are at rest now, Dabir and the others can take their time to recover now that the black dude is safely behind bars, and there's nothing holding us here. We need to get this bracelet back to the big guys before they go nuclear on the world." She does a quick glance behind her at the pyre, the fires finally dying down as they run out of fuel, and then she turns away from it again. "I'm also...going to refuse the Elder position."

"Whoa." I take all this in with deep breaths. "You've been thinking a lot up here, haven't you?"

She smiles. "Yeah. It's all that you can really do when you can't really cry anymore."

"Well," I respond, "If this is what you want, I won't fight you." I stand up and she throws me a teasing look.

"What? Afraid you'll lose to a girl?"

I chuckle and shake my head, holding out a hand to her. "Not of one who can't stand on her own two feet."

Daria's smile vanishes for a second before as she takes this in. Her eyes glance once more at the pyre and then return to mine. Smiling once more, this time truly, she takes my hand and I pull her to her feet. "Then you better not hold back because I won't go easy on you."

"Finally." I roll my eyes and turn to head for the stairs. As I start back down them, I glance back just in time to see her facing the two pyres for a long moment and then bow low from the waist in respect to the ones who had given her so much in her life. I try to hold in my grin as she runs to catch up with me and together, strangely, we head back to the safe house.

* * *

_Okay, this chapter is finally the turn of events. Things start happening fast now-things I don't even see coming (because sadly I write most of this story as it comes to my head). The next chapter is also a big surprise because someone joins the party, but is it a good thing?_

_(There I go with the weird commercial-talk again! Bleh!)_

_Now, once more, all town names and geography is made up out of my lazy imagination because I'm too hard-headed and…well, lazy to bother looking any of it up. Sooooo sorry, but please bear with me._

_Again, thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted, and commented! I welcome more advice. And also thanks to those who read as well!_

_Please continue on with my story and review with all the help you can give! (I love me some reviews!)_


	13. Chapter 13: Changes

_Okay, I know this chapter is short, but I was beginning to feel bad for not updating for all my "Princess of Persia" followers, so here's my apology. I'm going to work harder to post more for this story._

_Again, I'm sorry it's so short._

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_(__**Disclaimer**__: I do __NOT__ own Prince of Persia or their characters. Only Daria, Sama, and any new characters who show up are mine. The Aeon bracelet belongs to me, Blue Rowan, and her sister. The storyline also belongs to me.)_

* * *

*Chapter 13*

"He WHAT?" We all yell. And when I say all, I do mean 'ALL'. Me, Kas, Sama, Firuz, Arsalan, Vol, Jahani, and Asal; ALL of us. The only ones who hadn't joined our outrage is Nami who plays on the floor with a few toys and Dabir who had given us the news in the first place.

"He's asking for a truce." Dabir repeats.

We all stare at him with crazed looks frozen on our faces, our jaws dropped in horror and shock.

"I told him that since he had taken the lives of our villagers, then it was only right that he'd pay with his own life. He then proceeded to tell me that he had only aided in the capture of the Elders while his companion had…well, killed them. After a long silence he said he wanted a truce." Dabir explains.

There's a long pause among us all for the longest time before Asal breaks it.

"I don't want anything to do with the creature. Do what you want with him." She waves off the news before going to pick up her daughter and then moving to sit on a nearby boulder quietly.

"So…that means he only owes a debt to Daria now." Sama adds, glancing at me worriedly.

I narrow my gaze at her. "What punishment would I give him? I don't want anything to do with him either." I follow Asal's actions and sit down on the boulder behind me.

"Well, for starters you could at least hear him out. Then you could decide once and for all whether you still want anything to do with him." Sama shrugs.

Dabir places a hand on my shoulder. "He specifically said that he wanted to talk to you most of all. Maybe he means to give you an apology."

"Will that bring back our people?" I shift my hard gaze to him next.

"Will killing him?" He replies.

I sigh and close my eyes to think.

"I say we let him rot in jail." Vol finally voices his opinion.

"That'll be our 'plan b' if nothing else is decided." Jahani agrees.

They all start discussing other punishments while I just sit there trying to think. You'd think they'd walk away and give me some silence, but nope. Just my luck, I guess. Not that I mind. I've been alone for long enough.

Something moves beside me and pulls on my pants leg. "Daria, is the bad man going to be in jail forever?" Nami asks shyly.

I open my eyes and glance down at her when her voice reaches my ears and then I hop off the rock to squat down next to her, rubbing my hand over her head. She stares at me with a worried look and waits for my answer.

From behind her, her mother stares at me too, but I know she doesn't want the man in our village either. He destroyed it once, he could break out and do it again.

I let out a heavier sigh, dropping my hand to Nami's small shoulder and gaze at the dirt under my feet. What to do.

That vision I had gotten last time.

Sama gazing up with tears in her eyes and a happiness on her face I had never seen before. A blurry figure standing beside her, curling around her. Then again, when I think about killing the Hassassin that vision changes and I see Sama lying dead on the ground with arrows and gashes all over her body. My body goes dead cold at the sight.

What to do.

The bracelet starts to hum quietly on my arm and I can feel Nami trace it curiously with her fingers.

She and her mom don't want the Hassassin in the village, just as I don't, Dabir and Vol want him dead, just as I, but the bracelet is showing me that if I do kill him that vision with Sama all happy wouldn't come true.

What does it mean?

"Daria, we have decided to put him to death or let him go." Dabir's voice comes to me a second later after they had discussed a little more and right when it does, that vision of Sama's death fills my mind even stronger.

"No." The word comes out of my mouth before I can stop it.

"What?"

I stand up, ignoring Sama's question, and leave the group, heading down into the village. Sama comes running after me, calling my name, but again, I ignore her. I have to find out what the vision means and I know I'll only find out by facing the man who had caused it all.

I approach the prison hold, a small room in the rocks at the back of the village with a strong wooden door over the gap, and slam it open with a harsh pull. It hits the wall with a loud crash. Inside I can see a figure jump in the shadows.

"Get up." I tell him, walking fearlessly into the darkroom where the strong smell of blood has tainted the air.

He pauses for only a second before climbing to his feet slowly, his chains dragging the floor heavily. He grunts quietly as he stands, finally standing before me. The darkness covers his face, but I can see the shine of his eyes perfectly from behind that mask he wears.

"Talk." Is all I can manage to say. Behind me, Sama and the rest of my group moves into the room to glance around me.

"What do you want me to say?" He asks. His head tilts ever so slightly downward and I can practically feel his eyes bore into the Aeon around my arm. It burns in response and I move it out of his gaze. His head lifts back up. "So you are It's protector. The Aeon has chosen well."

"What do you know of it?" I narrow my eyes.

"The more important question is: what do you know of it?" He counters.

"I know enough."

"Do you know how to use it?"

"I've got a pretty good idea."

"Huh?" Sama cuts into our conversation. "Since when? I thought it didn't work like the dagger."

The Hassassin glances at her at the same time I do. "You travel with a Ngbaka." It's a statement, not a question.

"Got a problem with that?" Sama turns on him, but I quickly grab her arm before she can cut him down. Knowing her, she would in a second without any remorse.

I pull her behind me and turn my attention back to him. "I travel with a lot of different people. What really needs to be discussed here is what exactly you wanted to see me for."

"It's simple. You wish to get to Heaven's Scar safely and I wish to be freed."

"Aaaand…I can help you with that…how?" I roll my eyes in frustration.

"I can take you there." He raises his head again, a smile gracing his lips. It's a dark smile; one not even the smartest most desperate person in the world would trust.

Sama twitches behind me. "We can get her there perfectly fine without you."

"Do you plan on going through Copperhead Pass?" He calls when we all start to head back for the door.

I freeze.

"Yeah." Sama answers, her voice cracking nervously. "Why?"

"Don't tell him." Arsalan hisses.

Firuz smacks him across his arm. "You're just making it worse."

"Both of you hush." Kas snaps.

"You're all giving it away." I shake my head and rub my forehead.

"I can get you through without any trouble at all." The Hassassin explains, leaning back against the wall.

"You want to take us all the way to the Scar…safely? And in exchange?" Here it comes. It's probably freedom like he said, but something tells me it's not just any old 'freedom'. "What is it that you want?"

"I have told you want I want. I want my freedom."

"Freedom from here or some other freedom because I'm getting a feeling there's more behind what you're saying." I press, my frustration growing at the base of my heart.

"I can see they taught you well here in this village." He chuckles. "Very well. I want to be free from this guilt I feel, if you must know."

'Guilt? What does he mean guilt? Guilt for killing my people? Since when? There's no way.' I think to myself.

"Let me just put it this way, child." He leans back against the wall, crossing his arms fluidly like two snakes coiling around each other, and stares at his feet. "If you try to go through the Pass on your own and leave me here, my employer will send others of my kind after you. He will know I failed if I don't return to him. At least with me around you'd have a chance against them if my brothers do show up."

His words hit me like a block of cold ice. Others? I hadn't thought about it until now. I knew the myth of the Hassassins, but I never knew they really existed. If he's telling the truth and more come, could we fend them off? They can't be as strong as he's portraying them.

Sama steps around me and snaps. "It doesn't matter whether more come or not. We can take care of ourselves just fine. We always have!"

"Yeah, if Daria could fight you just fine, I'm pretty sure we can take care of any others who come after us. Daria beat you easily, so if you're all this weak it shouldn't be a problem for us at all." Arsalan adds, coming to join her in front of me.

"She got the better of me because I'm the youngest of my brothers. The older ones will be much more of a challenge." The Hassassin growls low, obviously losing his patience with my friends.

Sama and Arsalan glance at each other. "That…still doesn't mean anything." She chuckles weakly. "If we're together, we can take them down."

"All at once?" He raises his head and his hidden eyes seem to lock with Sama's. At first I think she's going to knife him, but she just spins around stubbornly and gives him her back. I'm impressed by her tolerance. If someone had put a challenge like that in front of her she would've taken it in an instant. "The Ngbaka are strong, so I've heard, but for my brothers you're nothing but child's play."

"We'll see." She smirks and walks out of the room.

"I say we bring him along." Arsalan, who obviously didn't take to the idea of fighting more than one Hassassin at a time, quickly surrenders to the idea and disappears to the back of the group. He may be big and brawny, but he doesn't have a single piece of a backbone at all. Either that or he hates fighting more than I thought.

Kas is about to say something more, but I've heard enough.

"Fine." The room goes even more silent than it ever was. No one moves. "Fine." I repeat. "You come along, but only to pay off your debt for killing my people. After all this is over, I return you here and whatever I say goes. You will remain here with my people and serve them until your life ends naturally. You won't be allowed to leave unless I say otherwise."

He stares at me intently and I can feel the rage beating off him like the sea against the shore. I don't let it knock me down; I'm too strong now for that.

He pushes off of the wall and holds out his arms stiffly and through clenched teeth he answers. "Very well. As you wish."

I slam my arm against his palm, my hand grabbing his forearm, and I nod. "Good."

A tingling sensation burns down my arm around the bracelet which his fingers trace along coldly and we glance down. Blue chain-like magic is weaving off the bracelet and down his arm to his elbow, linking us together.

A familiar voice from long ago echoes through my mind, now touching his strangely. _This Bond is sealed…_

* * *

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all." Sama grumbles again as we walk down the main exit from the village, now cleared away after a lot of help. She crosses her arms across her chest like a child throwing a tantrum and her horse's reins drag out behind her to her horse's muzzle. She named her Spot. Don't know why and I don't even want to know.

"You don't like a lot of things." I whisper to her, keeping my eyes on Dabir's back as he leads us out. Vol walks in front of him, out of my view, but I know soon I'll have to face him; before we leave.

"And for good reason." She hisses, finally happy that I decided to finally give up and talk about our recent predicament. The Hassassin is at the middle of our group, hands tied together from a long rope connected to Pilfer's saddle. His face is unreadable, no thanks to the mask he wears. I never did get around to asking him why he wears it, but that would actually require me to **talk** to him. Yeah, like that would ever happen. "You do realize we are harboring the guy who attacked your people? Who killed them in cold blood?"

I glare at her and she scratches her head.

"Sorry for bringing it back up, but you know what I'm getting at here! WHY?"

"Sama," I sigh, "It's fine. I have him bound by his word."

"And you trust these magic 'bonds' you claim to have seen? Who made them anyway? Him? I betcha he poisoned you, or worse!"

"Sama!" I wrap an arm around her shoulders and pat her head cheerfully, trying my best to lighten the mood back to its original care-freeness. "Stop worrying. Just think of it this way. If he did do anything to me and something happens, you get to kill him for me."

This has her face dropping in thought and then a sly smile beams to life across her face. I can almost see horns growing out of her head. "You said that not me." She warns.

"And I'll take full responsibility." I chuckle.

We finally exit back out into the windy mountain range and Dabir stops just inside to keep out of the gales. "If you head west, you'll reach Herald's cove. You should be able to hide there for the night safely and out of sight." He hands me a long package, wrapped up tightly with string and cloth. "These are yours now. Your father would've wanted you to have them."

I slowly remove the string and the cloth falls away.

My father's twin dual blades.

So much like my own and yet so different. They are about a hand longer than my own and the blade itself is the same as mine except for the split ends that curve off each other like swaying fire. My blades are solid all the way down.

The handles are wrapped in black leather and the hand guard and ends are decorated in gold. Small chains dangle off the ends with the two green jewels my mother made him to keep him safe. Each jewel has its own unique shape as well.

I close my eyes tightly before the tears have a chance to fall and wrap them back up without the string. "Hopefully I won't have to stain the blades with anymore blood."

"Daria, your father used those blades to protect his family. He would be proud to see you do the same. You don't have to carry them with anger." He smiles.

I nod with my own smile and Sama takes the blades from me carefully to tie them on Pilfer's saddle for me. As if on cue, my own blades start to get heavier in their sheaths. These had been raised in anger more than once. It's time I changed that, but I won't use my father's blades until I'm ready.

"Thank you." I bow to Dabir. Then I finally turn to Vol and remove the knife of the Elders from its place around my waist. I hold it out to him and his face blows up in shock. "The village needs someone to lead it now. The people will turn to you. I entrust you with their lives."

He slowly, almost reluctantly, holds out his hands and I place the dagger in his care. Something heavy lifts off my heart and I breathe.

He turns his eyes away from me and chuckles weakly. "You better keep the necklace. It's yours by law, you know." He raises his eyes then and his gaze is steady. "This is your home too, Daria. If you ever decide to return, your place as an Elder will always welcome you."

I smile wider. This is what I wanted all those years I lived here in my village. Vol and I never got along and we hated to be around each other. We always challenged the other for everything. In a way, now that I think about it, he was kind of like a brother to me. He's the only brother I've ever had. "Then I guess I shouldn't come back."

"You better or I'll never forgive you." He grins.

"I guess I don't have a choice in the matter if the Elder is the one giving me the orders." We laugh as our arms meet, just like mine had when I shook hands with the Hassassin, and I nod. "Take care of everyone for me."

"Of course."

"And if my sisters return, tell them I'm okay and that I love them. Tell them everything."

He nods and we release each other's arms. I give Jahani and Dabir a hug before turning away hesitantly; I had said my goodbyes to Nami and her mother back inside the village. The last time I left, I never felt remorse for doing so. The last time I left this place it was just like leaving behind a bad memory that I didn't want.

Now, though, it's totally different. My heart is aching to stay here. This place has truly become a home to me again.

This time, I don't leave because I want to.

This time, I'm sad.

* * *

_Finally, I can get back to the real story!_

_Yes, these last few chapters, I admit, have been crucial to the storyline, but they were sorta like add ons. In the original storyline, I had them all leave the thief territory and then head straight to Copperhead Pass, but I figured the story would come up too short if I did. I'm trying to write the story and end it at twenty chapters, but heh heh…_

_Yeah…_

_Anyhoo, thanks for continuing to read. How do y'all like the new addition to the group? Any ideas onto what the vision with Sama is all about? :D_

_Don't feel pressured, because I don't even know all the details yet._

_Now, once more, all town names and geography is made up out of my lazy imagination because I'm too hard-headed and…well, lazy to bother looking any of it up. Sooooo sorry, but please bear with me._

_Again, thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted, and commented! I welcome more advice. And also thanks to those who read as well!_

_Please continue on with my story and review with all the help you can give! (I love me some reviews!)_


	14. Chapter 14:  Sight

_Yay, another short chapter and I'm sorry. I just couldn't think of anything to write so it's mostly just about Daria's observation issues than anything else._

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_(__**Disclaimer**__: I do __NOT__ own Prince of Persia or their characters. Only Daria, Sama, and any new characters who show up are mine. The Aeon bracelet belongs to me, Blue Rowan, and her sister. The storyline also belongs to me.)_

* * *

*Chapter 14*

"Gaa! This wind is beyond annoying." Arsalan complains again for the fifth time this morning since we left.

"I agree." Firuz adds. He finally drops off his horse and leads her by foot. I had dismounted a while ago so that I could pull Pilfer along too. The wind beats at all of us harshly, pulling at our clothes and hair.

"We're almost there. It's about a mile more." I call back.

"Half actually." The Hassassin corrects.

"Nobody asked you." Sama snaps down at him from atop of Spot's back. She doesn't bother to turn back to glare over her shoulder at him and this surprises me.

The Hassassin's head spins off towards the Ngbaka and I can tell he's glaring at her even though I can't see his eyes. This trip is going to get longer, there's no doubt.

Shielding my eyes with my arm, I walk on, being careful with my foot work. Pilfer neighs in defiance, obviously not comfortable with the weather, and tugs at her reins. She comes along willingly, though, but she makes it absolutely clear about her discomfort.

I rub her muzzle gently. "It's okay, girl. We'll be out of this wind soon okay."

I scan the rocky mountain side carefully ahead, but I can't see anything through the sandy wind. The farthest my sight can go is about ten feet in front of me. I tug Pilfer to a stop.

"What's wrong?" Sama calls over the gales.

"Nothing." I answers, but deep down, I know that we should've hit the cove by now. Or at least seen it. I toss my horse's reins up to Sama who catches them and then I start skipping skillfully over the rocks ahead of us. I go for a few yards until I finally come to a stop. The rocks below me are dipping down farther and I can see down into the gap in the mountain.

'Herald's cove.' I smiles and thinks to myself. I head back to the group, now shrouded out of my sight by the sand filled wind, and stop before Sama.

"The cove is just up ahead. Follow me and stay close."

I lead them all along until we finally make it to the bottom of the cove, where the wind is cut off and it's not as loud. Sama ties the horses up to a dying tree sticking out of the rocks and then collapses on the ground.

"Whew! I thought I'd be eating sand for days. Anyone got any water?"

"Don't tell me you already drank yours." I groan.

"Sorry?" She shrugs.

With a roll of my eyes, I untie the water bottle at my waist and toss it to my friend. "That's mine so don't think you can have it all."

"I just want a little." Sama assures me. Yeah right.

"So are we staying here for the night?" Firuz asks, coming to stand by my side.

"Yeah, but we can't light a fire. Not in this wind anyway."

He nods and gets as close to the rock wall at our backs as he can to escape the wind. Pretty soon they're all falling to their knees and drifting off to sleep. All except for me. I find a boulder to climb up onto and cross my legs.

'Looks like I got first watch.' I think, glancing back over the group. 'By default.'

As the night carries on, the wind dies down slower and slower until it's finally just a gently breeze. The sand settles down and pretty soon I can see out into the desert beyond the mountains we are resting in. The moon comes out and lights the world up in grays and blues, letting the stars be the only real objects to stand out. I stare up at them for the longest time, but not even I can fight the urge to sleep.

Right when I'm about to fall over, I land into someone's arms, catching me before I can hit the ground.

"Oh, no you don't." He says with a quiet laugh. He picks me up and carries me over to where Sama is snoring soundly and lays me down next to her. "Get some sleep." He tells me.

'Don't have to tell me twice.' I think, not even bothering to try and see who's voice it is. All I know is the soft blanket under my body and the gentle wind spiraling my hair into my face. I don't wake up again until the sun peaks over the edge of the cove and hits my face.

Sama is facing me, eyes twitching against the light and she and I both open our eyes at the same time. For a long moment we just stare at each other, but then smile.

"How'd ya sleep?" Sama asks.

"Decent, if you don't mind snoring." I sit up quickly to escape her rage.

"UGH! You know just how to ruin the morning, don't you?" Sama growls effectively getting about three people to sit up sleepily and glare at her.

"Shut up!" They all growl.

Sama flinches away from them. "Sorry. I guess no one in this group is a morning person."

"Not even you."

"Daria, I swear to you!" Sama is about to grab me by the neck, but a flurry of objects come flying at her from everywhere there's someone still trying to sleep; the Hassassin is one of them. I roll out of the way to avoid the attacks and try not to laugh as my friend covers her head feebly.

"You brought it on yourself, Sama." I laugh when the projectiles come to a slow stop and squatting down in front of the Ngbaka with a grin.

Sama sighs in defeat. "Yeah, I know."

I get up and go to check on the horses and Pilfer raises her head to welcome me with a nudge of her muzzle. "How'd you sleep, girl?" The horse answers with a bob of her head.

"Since when can you talk to animals?" Kas asks, appearing out of nowhere. He glances over at me from behind his horse who was tied up next to Pilfer. His horse had been named Sky, but he wouldn't tell anyone why.

"Since Pilfer became mine. I've never been much of an animal person, but when Pilfer came along, I fell in love with her. She's easy to read once you get used to her." I answer with a smile as I pull out an apple from the saddle pouch and start cutting it up for the horses. It had been a while since they had something sweet to eat.

Kas laughs softly. "How'd you sleep last night?"

"Good. You?"

"Fine."

The conversation ends and that's when I remember being carried to bed last night. Had it been Kas?

'I've got to practice being more aware of my surroundings.' I shake my head in disappointment.

"So where do we head now?" Sama asks as she comes up behind us.

"Well, Copperhead Pass is about a day's journey from here. We could make our way up through the mountains and come out about midway up the Pass or we could follow the mountain range down and enter in through the starting point. It's up to you guys." I slip the apple knife back in with the rest of the apples as I explain, glancing between the two of them.

"How well do you know the mountains?" Kas asks.

"Well, I grew up in them so it would be like walking a route along the back of my hand, but once we're out of the mountains I'm lost. I've never been farther north of them."

"I say we take the straight line." Firuz cuts in, coming to rub his horse's muzzle. Myst welcomes him with a few nudges.

"I agree." Sama nods.

"It would be faster."

Sama all but jumps into my arms when the new voice enters the conversation from behind her. She pulls out two throwing daggers on instinct but I grab her hands quickly to stop her from killing the Hassassin.

Even with his eyes covered, I can feel him glaring again.

"Faster?" Sama breathes slowly. "How much faster? It's like you know."

"I've walked the Pass more than once." He answers simply in a matter-of-fact tone.

Sama throws me a glance and I read it quickly. She wants to take the 'L' route now.

I shake my head. She's only saying that because she's being stubborn. It would be easier on all of us to take the shorter route, so it's straight through the mountains we go.

"If we want to make it to the Pass by sundown, we'll need to leave now. Everyone ready?" I ask, climbing up onto Pilfer's back. They all nod their consent, but loud snores make us all turn around. Arsalan is still snoozing over in the shade of the rocks.

We roll our eyes.

* * *

"I can't believe he hasn't woken up yet." I snicker, poking Arsalan on the shoulder as I ride next to him. We had lifted him onto his horse and tied him on so he wouldn't fall off and yet he still hasn't woken up.

"The Hassassin must have drugged him with a sleeping poison." Sama calls back, riding at the front of the group. From behind me, still tied by the wrists to my saddle, the Hassassin shakes his head and mumbles something under his breath.

"Sama, that's enough already. I let it go the first couple of times, but your attitude is really getting old now. Let it go." I plead.

She doesn't answer, nor does she turn to look back at me over her shoulder. Great, I've gotten on the bad side of a Ngbaka. I may not live through the night tonight. Tell my people I love them.

The thought has bad memories spilling into my thoughts and I close my eyes to block them out. I can't be thinking of that now.

"So what's up with this Pass that Sama doesn't like?" Firuz asks, slowing down so that he can ride on my other side. "Is it really that bad?"

"No she's just superstitious. It's been rumored that robbers and murderers hide their for random, unsuspecting people to come by, but it hasn't been proven." I smile. "She's mostly scared of the demon that is said to live there."

"Demon? Hold on, you got my attention now. What demon?" Kas turns in his saddle to face the conversation.

I can't help but laugh a little. "It's just some random myth."

"I like ghost stories." Firuz presses.

"Then how about I tell it tonight when we reach the Pass?"

"Deal!" We shake hands to seal the promise.

"I still want to know about the demon itself." Kas glares at us.

"Okay, it's a demon said to suck the souls out of people. Dozens of people have gone missing in the Pass, but that's probably only because the Pass has a lot of turns in it and they just probably got lost. Some people, though, claim to see people being dragged off into the darkness and their bodies turn up days later, drained dry, pale, and mumbling like a crazy person. They eventually died I guess." I shrug. It had been a while since I heard the stories, since it was my dad who usually told them. I miss those story times.

"So she's afraid of a legend?" Kas laughs.

"I hope you people know I can hear you just fine from up here!" Sama snaps back at us. We all laugh loudly, our voices vibrating around us, and the noise finally wakes the sleeping boy to my right.

"Wh...what's up?" He stumbles sleepily and then stares down at the ropes holding him in the saddle. "Hey! What's the big idea?"

We just all laugh harder. The only one who doesn't join us is the one walking silently behind me. A little too quietly, actually.

We stop about midday at a small water hole and pull out the food Dabir had stocked us with. I bring some over to the Hassassin, but he doesn't move to take it.

"You know if you plan on killing yourself by not eating, then I should warn you that it's not going to work. I'll catch on eventually and kill you myself." I explain, placing a hand on my hip in annoyance. I don't want to be over here with him any longer than I have to. I'd rather be over with my friends laughing it up, than sit in the gloom he illuminates all the day long.

"I'm not hungry." Is all he says.

I give up and set down the food and water on the small rock next to him. "Well, here it is just in case. Get some drink before it gets too hot."

With that, I head back over to the others and climb up onto the boulder next to Sama, keeping the Hassassin in my sight at all times in case he tried something. He ignores the food all together, but eventually, thirst must have gotten the better of him because he downs the water in nearly one gulp.

The heat is lower here, but the humidity could be worse than the sun sometimes; especially in the mountains. Around water areas and such it gets cooler, so as long as we keep around places like these, we shouldn't over heat.

But as I watch him, I start to wonder. It doesn't look like he wears much, but it's all black and he has the mask over his eyes and head. He's got to be burning up. Why does he wear it?

"Daria?"

"Huh?" I tear my thoughts and eyes away from the Hassassin and turn back to the conversation I hadn't heard a word of.

"Will you forget about the tow-along and relax. He ain't going nowhere. I'll make sure of that. If he tries to run, he won't make it far." Sama twirls a small thin throwing dart in her fingers with an hard look in her eyes. She's all business now.

"I am relaxed, but..." Again, my eyes glance over at him. I can only see his profile because he's turned away from them, but it's enough. "I wonder if he can eat. I've only ever heard stories of the Hassassins, but I've never actually seen one. Do they eat...human food?"

"He's not a pet, Daria, so stop seeing him as one. He's a killer, nothing more." She responds, picking up another apple and biting into it without a care.

Everyone nods their agreements with her, but mine is slower. Sure he's not a pet, but he's still a human being...I think.

* * *

_So I hope y'all like this ridiculously short chapter (again, I'm sorry) and please review! I do need advice on what to change and if you'd like to give me some ideas for future chapters then that is welcomed too._

_Once more, all town names and geography is made up out of my lazy imagination because I'm too hard-headed and…well, lazy to bother looking any of it up. Sooooo sorry, but please bear with me._

_Again, thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted, and commented! I welcome more advice. And also thanks to those who read as well!_

_Please continue on with my story and review with all the help you can give! (I love me some reviews!)_


	15. Chapter 15: The Choice

_This chapter has to be my favorite so far. I got to put Daria through some pain…and a little more pain. Woot! Hahaha!_

_Anyhoo, I also got to put Kas into a choice he will have to make soon. Is Daria a friend or something else?_

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_(__**Disclaimer**__: I do __NOT__ own Prince of Persia or their characters. Only Daria, Sama, and any new characters that show up are mine. The Aeon bracelet belongs to me, Blue Rowan, and her sister. The storyline also belongs to me.)_

* * *

*Chapter 15*

I wake up to Sama's scream.

I had only been taking a nap about five minutes, Kas was being look out, Firuz was taking care of the horses, and Arsalan was cleaning up. Sama was put in charge of watching out for the Hassassin when he went out to do a scan of the area. We've been riding all day so we thought we'd stop for awhile while the Hassassin and Sama went to look for a better place to set up camp. Kas had told me it wasn't a good idea to put those two together, but I didn't listen. Since the Hassassin probably knew the Pass better than me, I trusted him to find a safer place to rest.

Now we are all up on our feet and racing out towards her voice. The scream is like nothing I've heard from her before. Come to think of it, I've never heard her scream before; most of the time people were screaming at the sight of her. The screech has my blood running cold.

'Please let her be okay!' I can't help but think. My feet pick up speed on reflex, sending me flying forward ahead of the boys. We round the corner of the rock wall nearly half a mile away and I skid to a stop, Kas running into me from behind.

"Daria, look out!" Sama screams again, but I don't see her. My eyes are locked onto the approaching blade and time seems to slow to almost a dead stop. Kas is still reeling back from running into me and Arsalan and Firuz are trying to stop before hitting him, Sama and the Hassassin are somewhere beyond the blade coming straight at me, but I don't have to look for them. I barely have time to react, let alone think.

I know I can't move or the blade would pierce Kas and that couldn't happen while I am breathing. None of my friends would be hurt anymore, that's for sure.

My decision, though, leaves me in the path of the sword and before I can even come to a complete stop, the blade is hitting me dead on.

All I can feel is the cold blade and the even colder feeling rushing through me from the impact point to all corners of my body. My heart stutters to a long pause and then speeds up in fear.

'No...' My eyes go wide as I stare down at the blade in horror. My breath hitches painfully, trying to keep my lungs working. 'No, this can't happen! Please!'

"Daria!" Sama's voice yells out my name, but her voice gets slower and slower, as if it's dragging to a stops.

A fire breaks out in my arm and a familiar tugging sensation builds up in my body. I'm ripped out and, just like last time, I watch in amazement as everything is laid out before me to see.

Sama and the Hassassin are backed against a far wall by at least ten men in thief costumes and masks. Kas reaches forward to grab the guy plunging his sword into my gut. Firuz is reaching into his sack for something. Arsalan is pulling out one of his axes.

And everything is stopped, frozen in time.

The only thing I can really focus on is the sword that now enters through my stomach and exits out of my back. I can see the blood hanging in the air from where it gushes out around the exposed sword blade.

I look down at myself then, my movements as slow as a snail, and gasp again. I would never get used to the sight. Cracks of light travel over my body as if I'm made of glass and in the air around me is sand particles that are breaking away from my body. The light cracks, as if the light is coming from inside me, become more numerous around the bracelet of Time, circling my right forearm.

Like I said, I would never get used to it.

Things start moving then, moving in reverse as they speed up to a fast pace. I watch the blood reenter my body, sighing in relief, and the blade pull out of my skin. No wound is left in its place.

That's when I hear the voice.

_Choose: Present or Past..._

'Huh?'

The voice chuckles a little.

_Present or Past...it does not matter to me. The choice will affect you most of all._

'Uh...present, I guess.'

The voice seems to like my decision because it laughs once more and then I'm suddenly thrust back into my body. The only difference now is that everything stops again, freezing up, but I still move. This time though, I'm not all glowy and stuff. This time I have full control over my movements. This time, I can change what I want.

I glance around in amazement first, trying to let the scene sink in to my brain, but when it doesn't seem to want to wrap around it, I shake my head and decide to just have fun with it. Taking a deep breath, I grab onto the guy's hands who holds the sword that stabbed me and pull hard. Being frozen in time, trying to move something is way harder than it looks; like trying to move a wall. Eventually, I get his fingers off the hilt and then stare in amazement as the sword hangs in mid air. I take a hold of the sword this time and slowly turn it around. This is almost as hard as the hands were; I'm actually breaking a sweat!

I have to stop a couple of times to catch my breath, but I get it turned around until the tip faces the thief and then I grab a hold of the hilt where his hands had once been.

Now comes the hard part.

How do you restart time?

As if on cue, a flash of light causes me to shut my eyes in surprise. Sound comes blaring back into my ears with a bang and I'm pushed back by a heavy impact and a choking sound. When I open my eyes, I'm surprised to find that the thief's blade is now running through him.

He stares down at it wide eyed in horror, just like I had a second ago, and then up at me before he falls to the ground. I release the blade and let it go with him.

The assault on Sama and the Hassassin stops and they all go deathly quiet as they turn around. All of them, even my friends, stare at me in shock.

I glance around at them, down at the dead guy at my feet, and then around again. "What?" I shrug. "I can change time."

The thieve glance around at each other then and out of nowhere, they drop their weapons and race off into the rocky terrain.

"Wow, talk about chicken." I put my hands on my hips and shake my head in disapproval. It's hard to believe that a second ago, I had been killed. It makes me shiver.

"Hold on! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! What just happened?" Sama pushes herself off the rock wall and stomps over. "I saw that man come at you with a sword. How'd it get turned around and into him so fast?"

I crooked smile of boredom touches my mouth and I hold up my arm to her so that she can see the bracelet. My answer.

Her eyes go from me to the Aeon, then back to me a couple of times before they finally catch on. "No...way."

"Yes way. Now what happened to you two?" I drop my arm and change the subject, not wanting to really let it sink in that I had been dead before the Aeon saved my life. I didn't want to think about the cold metal that had went right through me like butter.

"What was-?"

I grab her by the lips with my fingers, shutting them closed. "What happened?" I say slowly, making sure that she hears me this time.

She gives me a look over and then nods. I let her go. "We found a really good place to camp out, but then those robbers dropped down on us out of nowhere and surrounded us."

"And you screamed like a little girl...why?"

"I did **not** scream like a little girl!"

"Sounded to me like you were pretty scared." I grin.

"There's scared and then there's surprised!" Sama crosses her arms in defiance and gives us all her back. Typical Ngbaka pride.

"Now tell me what happened?" She suddenly turns on me, grabbing me by the shirt and lifting me up. I laugh.

"It's all fine. I'm fine now."

"What's that mean? Are you saying something happened to you?" Sama's eyes widen in fear.

I scratch my head. I just told on myself yet again. I've got to stop doing that. "Okay, okay. I'll tell y'all tonight, but not out here in the open. Let's get to this safe place you guys found first." Sama groans, letting me go, and settles on that for an answer, but I know it'll only hold her off for a little while.

We head back to the horses, being ever watchful now since we're all keyed up, and we move on. Sama leads us to the cave on top of a cliff.

"So why didn't you help Sama exactly?" I ask the Hassassin as we pull the horses up the incline leading to the cliff.

"I can't exactly do much with my hands tied." He holds up his rope bound hands to emphasize his point, but he knows as well as I that he could've broken that rope to help. It's almost like he had wanted Sama to die. Good thing we came when we did, whether or not I barely survived death.

I manage to glare at him over my shoulder before I have to turn back forward to climb the last step up the incline. Pilfer immediately pulls her reins out of my hand and heads over to the small patch of grass growing at the edge of the ledge; soon the other horses are following her example and joining her. I step under the low hanging edge of the cave and after a few strides I'm able to stand back up as the roof rises up again.

"Wow." I state, glancing around the cavern. Stalagmites and winding tunnels are everywhere. From somewhere out of sight, the sound of dripping water echoes throughout the tunnels every so often.

"Isn't it cool?" Sama stops by my side, placing her hands on her hips and smiling at her finding with pride.

I just stare at her out of the corner of my eye as she beams but eventually she catches on to the fact that I have yet to respond.

"Isn't it?" She asks again.

I continue to stare at her and her beam becomes less bright.

"Isn't it?"

Her face falls darker now and she glances from me to the room and back again.

"Daria?"

Her light of pride dies completely now and she stares back at me in defeat.

"Come on! It's not that bad!"

Kas comes to stop at my side and together we say "It's a cave."

Sama crosses her arms stubbornly. "Well, if you don't like it, you all can sleep outside with the robbers." With that she spins on her toe and stalks away.

Within the hour, we have a small fire going and the sun falls out of the sky. Not literally. I only mean to express how utterly dark it gets out here in the mountains. And to top it all off, we're in a hole. That little fact only makes it that much darker.

I cannot believe I'm sleeping in a hole. Well, what can you do?

As we sit around the fire, eating up our dinner, Firuz and Kas finally lose patience and ask the question I know Sama has been dying to ask since we settled in here.

"So what did happen back there with the thieves?"

My face falls and I set my bowl down, spotting the Hassassin looking up from his place by the entrance to the cave, hands still tied, out of the corner of my eye.

"All I know is that the robber came at me as we were coming around the corner, the sword went right through me, and the last thing I thought was-."

"HOLD ON!" Sama roars. "The sword went through you? Meaning you were hurt?"

I narrow my eyes at her, refusing to answer.

She sits back down and I continue. "Yes, I was hurt, more like killed almost, but the last thing I thought was not wanting it to happen and then I saw everything reverse around me up until the second the sword hit me. Then the voice came and-."

"What voice?" The Hassassin asks.

'Man, people are rude.' I think as I turn my narrowed gaze at him next. He shrugs his less than honest apology and again I continue.

"It asked me if I wanted to go to the past or present, I chose present, and then somehow I was able to twist the sword around while time was stopped and make it go through him when time started up again." I finish, picking up my bowl again and slurping at my soup.

"Wait, so all this happened basically because you thought something..." Sama's voice trails off.

"That's how it always happens. I figured that out when I saw my village being ripped apart while Dabir was actually telling me how it happened." I reply through a mouthful of soup.

"The Aeon runs off of your emotions and thoughts." The Hassassin calls.

We all turn around to gaze at him.

"How do you know?" I ask, totally suspicious now.

"My employer told me all I need to know about it." Is his single response. He doesn't speak anymore that night.

"Well," Firuz slaps his knees after a long, awkward pause, and stands up after setting down his bowl. "I think it would be a good idea for everyone to just go get some sleep while we can. We've been out in the heat all day so we just need to separate and rest."

I don't move while everyone else does, shifting around quietly to set up bedding and areas all to themselves. Even Kas, Firuz, and Arsalan put some distance between themselves. Watching all this, I start to wonder if that feeling of friendship I had felt between us all was just the heat getting to my mind. Maybe we were all still as distant as we were when we had started this journey.

Pretty soon all of them are sound asleep; all except for me. I continue to stare into the fire, the dancing heat warming my face and body even through my clothes. For the longest time, I wait for my eyes to get tired, heavy, but nothing happens. I'm wide awake.

I scan my eyes over the bodies of my friends, firstly Sama. The dark-skinned young woman snores lightly, her side rising and falling smoothly as she sleeps. I then shift my gaze to the newest recruit, the Hassassin. Since he had joined, it seemed like everyone was on the edge of a blade, straddling the choice to fear him or kill him. It's the whole fight of flight response with everyone nowadays.

Next, I gaze at Firuz and Arsalan in turn. Both of the young men had shown me great bravery and caring when they had followed me back to my village without even so much as a question. They stood by my side and waited for me until I had felt ready to put my family to rest.

Last was Kas. He had surprised me more than any of them. He had changed more in my eyes than even Sama had ever done. He had gone from arguing with me twenty-four/seven, to comforting me when I had been mourning.

What was it that changed? What had altered?

When had I fallen asleep?

The next thing I remember is being laid down on my bedding beside Sama again by some unknown person. The only thing I can remember through my foggy memory is the person's strong arms, their warm body, and how light I felt.

* * *

A foot.

Of all the things I could wake up to, it has to be a foot. Why couldn't it be a nose, or an arm, or a body for crying out loud?

I reach up, grab the big toe, and lift it off me, glaring over at Arsalan who the foot is attached to and drop it to the rocky ground they lay on. His heel hits the dirt.

He grunts and rolls over, kicking said leg out and hitting me directly in the rib cage. The blow has my crying out and rolling away.

"What the heck?" Daria sits up along with Sama and she hits her head on the low lying rocks behind her and she replays my shout. "OW!"

Everyone is up by then, the Hassassin sitting up, ankles tied, glancing over at her, Firuz pulling out a round black marble from somewhere under his pillow, and Sama jerking away to fall over laughing.

"Shut up, Sama!" Daria growls, holding the back of her head tightly and rocking back and forth slowly. "It ain't funny!" She gets shakily to her feet and stomps outside as Sama just rolls over harder.

I shake my head and follow Daria out into the misty morning. It's earlier than I thought it was. Outside, I find Daria sitting on the edge of the ledge with her feet hanging down over the edge, just like I had seen her sitting at her parent's burning. The only difference this time is she's rubbing the back of her head gently with the tips of her fingers. I had always thought that her hands looked so small, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that those hands are stronger than she lets on.

Her hair, so much smoother than I had first thought, sways in the morning breeze. She slowly feels along her scalp, rubbing the unseen bump gently. I shake my head and smile.

"Move your hand." I tell her.

"Why? OW!" She jerks, when my finger hits the bump. I pull back for a second to let her head calm back down and then I slowly start to brush the hair aside to see the bump. All I find is a red area.

"You're fine. No harm done."

"Except to my brain." She groans as I sit down next to her.

"Sorry about that." I chuckle.

"What had you screaming exactly?"

"Arsalan kicked me in the ribs…right after he shoved his foot in my face for me to wake up to."

Whatever I said must have hit home because she falls over instantly into me, laughing louder than I have I ever heard from her. I nearly fall over in surprise when she falls onto me and I can't help but stare at her worriedly for a long moment. She eventually slips and falls onto her back on the ground behind me, her laughter shaking the canyon around us. I finally decide that she's just crazy and shrug, finally succumbing to the urge to laugh as well.

When we finally calm down, we're both lying on our backs staring at the sky. For a long time we just sit there in silence and enjoy the sunlight as it reaches over the tops of the mountains around us.

"You seem better." I bravely state. I don't like bringing up bad memories, but sometimes I feel as if she hasn't really been able to mourn her family enough.

"I am. I don't feel…quite as heavy as I did before I got to bury them. I should thank you for that."

"For what?"

"What do you mean 'for what'? You were nice enough to wait for me while I was going through all that. I owe you all so much." She takes a deep breath, releasing it shakily. "I don't know how I can repay you all."

I turn to glance at her, watching her stare at the sky, and for a second I see that woman again that I know nothing about. She changes again, right before my eyes. A new side of her that she hides from the world; from herself.

She turns to glance at me, but I force myself to turn away, tearing my eyes away from her before she can find me staring at her.

"You want to pay me back?" I ask.

She doesn't answer right away, but when she does, her voice is low and soft; almost like a caress from the wind.

"Yes."

A shiver crawls up my spine. I blink it away and then find that I've totally forgotten what I was going to say. So I stumble up a quick response. "Good because I expect you to." I quickly get to my feet and head back into the cavern.

"You know, you could've said something nice like 'oh, you don't have to do that' or 'please don't feel like you have to' or even something wise like 'just go on living for your family'. But no, you had to go back to being a smart aleck!"

"I try." I wave back at her.

From that moment, I felt something change inside me, something I wasn't a hundred percent sure about.

* * *

_So? What y'all think? :D_

_Hope you enjoyed!_

_I do need advice on what to change and if you'd like to give me some ideas for future chapters then that is welcomed too._

_Once more, all town names and geography is made up out of my lazy imagination because I'm too hard-headed and…well, lazy to bother looking any of it up. Sooooo sorry, but please bear with me._

_Again, thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted, and commented! I welcome more advice. And also thanks to those who read as well!_

_Please continue on with my story and review with all the help you can give! (I love me some reviews!)_


	16. Chapter 16: Tempers Fly

_Okay, wow, it has been a while. I really hope all my readers haven't fallen off the edge of the earth from boredom. I really am sorry it has taken me so long to update-I blame a full-time college schedule and work…_

_Anyhoo, I couldn't really come up with much for this chapter except for some tension and a few arguments, but they were needed for an upcoming battle because these arguments are going to bring about some major outcomes it the fight, so please look forward to that._

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_(__**Disclaimer**__: I do __NOT__ own Prince of Persia or their characters. Only Daria, Sama, and any new characters that show up are mine. The Aeon bracelet belongs to me, Blue Rowan, and her sister. The storyline also belongs to me.)_

* * *

*Chapter 16*

"Watch it!" I dodge and roll out of the way as a loose boulder comes barreling down the canyon wall and into the ravine where we're traveling along. It crashes into the ground and breaks apart into two pieces. The horses rear up in fright and Arsalan and Firuz grip their reins tighter to keep them from running off. The Hassassin grabs Pilfer's reins while Kas grabs the other remaining horses.

Sama disappears for a split second before I catch sight of her again, flipping off the wall and over a piece of the boulder that cracks into the wall where she had been. As she lands, I come to a stop by her side.

"Well, that was a change for the morning, won't it?" I grin.

"Yeah, if you like near death experiences." Sama rubs her arm absentmindedly, freeing it of dust and debris. "Honestly, I really wanted a quite morning walk."

"Aw, but what fun would that be?"

"Shut it, girl."

I shake my head and glance up the canyon wall. The sun is already blinding my sight, but I can still see to the top nearly fifty stories up. There'll be more of those boulders raining down everywhere thanks to years of erosion and shifting dirt.

There's no telling what could happen in this Pass.

It's a good thing Sama is wary about this place; someone needs to be alert.

"So, Sama, what does this 'monster' that you're scared of look like?" Firuz asks, hiding a chuckle.

"And here we go." I mumble, shaking my head.

Sama spins around a little too excitedly for my taste and we all stop to prevent running into her. Our horses grunt in complaint. I roll my eyes and cross my arms to wait it out. "It's said it's more than a hundred feet long, like a snake, with twelve eyes across its head like that of a spider. It has horns that can gorge open a full grown bull like it's a small child. Oh, and the fangs! Don't get me started on those. One bite from the thing and the poison eats away at everything inside of you until you're nothing but a walking vegetable; mumbling like a brainless monkey."

Arsalan has gone stone stiff, I sigh in annoyance since I've heard her story more than once, Kas rubs his chin thoughtfully, Firuz just stands there with wide eyes, and the Hassassin is silent as the grave, but what else is new.

"So it's a giant snake with spikes on its head. Big deal." The masked man shrugs before walking forward again.

"It isn't just a big deal! It's a really big deal! This demon is huge. If it attacks us, I'm giving you as sacrifice so it'll leave the rest of us alone." Sama snaps at him. I watch her rant at him as we follow close behind and I start to really worry.

She may just be yelling at him now, but how long will it be before she has a dagger to his throat. Her temper probably won't stay intact much longer and if anyone's going to kill the guy it'll be me.

"Get along better than we did, huh?" Kas whispers from beside me, effectively getting me to chuckle.

"Sure, but I don't think we were as bad." My laugh dies off.

"What do you mean?"

I sigh, staring at the bickering two not too far ahead of us. "I don't think it's going to last long before Sama kills him. She gets tenser every day."

My warning must have hit home because Kas stares forward seriously at the two and a worried expression crosses his face.

"Then we'll have to make sure that doesn't happen. The way I see it, his life is yours to take."

I nod slowly in agreement.

* * *

"Daria, I'm thirsty."

"I told you not to drink you water so fast." I groan.

"But I was thirst then too."

I roll my eyes. "You've got to learn some restraint."

"I know."

Silence consumes the group again and the sound of the horse hooves hitting the ground echoes around us. I know the animals are tired. It's been nearly six hours since we last stopped and yet the canyon maze has yet to lead us out of the mountains. How much longer would it be?

I try to remember anything about this place that my people may have told me about but all I could recall was one of the really old wisemen saying:

"Look to the land."

"Huh?"

I blink out of my thoughts. "Nothing, just something one of the people of my tribe once said about this Pass.

"I was told the same thing."

"Really?"

Sama glances over her shoulder and nods. "Yeah, my mom used to tell me stories of Copperhead Pass and the Demon who rules it. She told me once about an old riddle that will help lead you out of the Pass. It was just simply: 'look to the land.' Whatever that means."

"Wait, so it's a riddle?" I rush to join her at her side and take hold of her arm.

"That's what my mom said." She nods.

"I don't get it." Kas shrugs.

"Hmm….'look to the land'. Maybe it's not even a riddle. Maybe it seriously means look to the land." Arsalan points out.

"How would the land help us? All I see is rocks." Sama throws up her hands in annoyance. I think the heat is getting to all of us.

"It quite literally means, look to the land. It may not look it, but all of the canyons are different. Each twist to the Pass leads in a different direction but if you look at how they're formed you know if you're going in the right direction." Again the Hassassin speaks out randomly, getting all of our attention.

"I still don't see how a bunch of rocks are going to lead us anywhere." Sama groans.

The Hassassin stops and turns around suddenly. Sama and I nearly run straight into him. "It's because you're not looking, child."

"Who are you calling a child, boy! If you don't shut your jaws, you'll be lying in your own blood before you can spit out another word, you got that?" Sama pulls out a sharp dagger from out of thin air and I rush forward to grab her arm.

"Sama don't do it. You're a bigger person than him. Just let it go."

"You may want to listen to your master, slave."

"What was that?" Now my blood is boiling. Sama had been nearly a head shorter than him, but now that I've turned to face him, I can tell I'm just about half an inch shorter than Sama. He's beyond tall; which doesn't help me out any. "Call her that again and I won't give her a chance to kill you."

A hand grabs my fist and pulls me back while another set of hands pins Sama away from him too. I fight against the hold, but it only responds by closing tightly around my waist.

"Calm down, both of you!" Firuz snaps with his small voice.

"We're all tired and hot, so let's just find somewhere to sit for a while and cool off." Kas's voice is right in my ear but it sounds like it's miles away. "Hassassin, go grab onto the horses and help Firuz with them. Arsalan and Sama will go ahead and look around."

I glare at the Hassassin as he stalks past me towards the back of the group and then when he's out of reach, Kas loosens his grip. I jerk out of his hold and stomp away.

"I'll go. I need some air." Is my excuse.

I ignore the voices that call after me and disappear ahead of them all. My feet stomp across the ground noisily. I could care less right now about any threats that could hear me. Bring on the demon; I need something to kill. I can feel my blades get heavier across my back; itching to be drawn.

'Soon.' I promise them silently.

That's when I hear the only sound that could lighten my mood at the moment.

Water.

I come around the next bend slowly and gasp. The canyon opens up a ways to make room for a decent sized water fall to spill over into the area and into a large pool of crystal clear water. It was almost too good to be true.

"Over here!" I call back to the group. "I found water!"

"Finally!" Sama's relieved voice exclaims even louder than mine. I can't help but laugh.

Soon enough they all catch up and enter the area with wide eyes, much like I had, but now I'm seated on a boulder next to the water and pulling off my shoes.

After tying up the horses they all approach the edge of the water eagerly.

"I wonder how clean it is." Firuz states.

As if on cue, Sama yells and leaps off the nearest boulder to plunge into the depths.

We all stare at her for a moment.

"I wouldn't try it now if I were you." I smile.

Pretty soon we've all got our feet in the water. Sama tortures us with her nagging teases until Firuz and Arsalan finally jump in as well, nearly soaking me to the bone in their wake. The water felt great after such a walk and sure it was a welcoming thought to know we could rest here for the night, but I couldn't shake this itching feeling to run.

After our canteens are filled to the brim, the horses watered and released to graze on some nearby river grass, and each given turns to bathe, we light a fire and cook up some food. It felt good to be clean again. All that sand had done a number on me.

I run my fingers through my wet hair, trying my best to get the knots out since I had left my comb in my sadly bag, and then I dress slowly, enjoying the cool night air against my skin. The bath had done me good. All the stress that had started to build up again is gone and so is my temper…for now.

"Are you done yet?"

I jump at his voice. "Geez, what do you want?"

"Well, I've been waiting for my turn to take a bath, but for some reason, girls have to take forever to clean off. Your species will always be a mystery to me." He sighs.

"Well I'm very sorry I took up your time. Forgive me for trying to relieve some stress." I chuckle.

"We could've talked if you wanted to get something off your chest." Kas responds.

"There are some things a girl just can't speak about to a guy. I swear you kind will always be a mystery to me." I shoot back.

"It's a gift, darlin'. Not exactly something you can teach."

I laugh. "Well you could use that little gift of yours to not be so clueless. Maybe then you'd understand women better."

"Highly doubt it, but I guess I could give it a shot."

I let my hair fall around my shoulders and back before picking up my dry cloth, now soak after drying off with it, and exit from the back side of the boulder. I bow and motion towards the pool.

"All yours, dear."

"Appreciate it, doll." He grins at me and heads towards the water, pulling off his shirt as he goes.

"At least wait until you're out of sight to strip. There's other people around here you know." I roll my eyes and turn to away.

"I don't see anybody but you here."

I glance around and sure enough, the group had set up on the other side of the area nearly out of sight. I spin around, ready to explain what I meant, but he's suddenly right there.

He stares down at me and I unexpectedly find it really hard to look away.

He stands there, bare chested before me nearly a head taller than my, but not as tall as the Hassassin surprisingly. I thought for sure he'd be taller.

I swallow and step back. "Rude much?" Is all I can think of to say.

"You're the one still standing here." He smirks. He lifts a finger as if he's just figured something out. "Unless you want to join me, is that it?"

My eyes lower in annoyance and I walk away. "Don't flatter yourself, boy. You don't got anything I want."

I hear him laugh in response, but for some reason it only makes the flaming heat under my skin that much hotter.

* * *

_Okay, short chapter I know. I take full blame._

_Still I hope you all liked it and I look forward to reviews on how y'all liked it._

_I do need advice on what to change and if you'd like to give me some ideas for future chapters then that is welcomed too._

_Once more, all town names and geography is made up out of my lazy imagination because I'm too hard-headed and…well, lazy to bother looking any of it up. Sooooo sorry, but please bear with me._

_Again, thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted, and commented! I welcome more advice. And also thanks to those who read as well!_

_Please continue on with my story and review with all the help you can give! (I love me some reviews!)_


	17. Chapter 17: Fight or Die

_So here is chapter seventeen and, boy, was it hard to write. I swear I wasn't sure if I should do one thing opposed to another. I'm getting so annoyed with the Hassassin that I'm just ready to kill him off myself, but I can't._

_He, sadly, ends up playing a major role in this story._

_By the way if you've got a good name for him then please let me know cause I've got nothing._

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_(__**Disclaimer**__: I do __NOT__ own Prince of Persia or their characters. Only Daria, Sama, and any new characters that show up are mine. The Aeon bracelet belongs to me, Blue Rowan, and her sister. The storyline also belongs to me.)_

* * *

*Chapter 17*

I'm just starting to wake up out of a good dream when I hear Sama mumble something to herself that throws me for a loop.

"Wow, Daria, I didn't know you had it so bad for Kas."

I jerk up into a sitting position and shiver. "Heck, no." I whisper with a soft chuckle.

"Good morning." Firuz rubs his eyes sleepily and sits up. He drops his hands on his lap and stares at me half awake. "Or…Good afternoon. Good Evening." He glances up at the pink sky. "Or good night. Whichever." He shrugs and falls back over onto his bedding.

I can't help but smile at him. The kid is quickly growing on me; I've always wanted a younger brother to boss around rather than a bunch of sisters, but I'm not complaining.

In no time, they all start to move around, getting up to dress and pack things into the saddles, refilling the canteens, and fixing breakfast. The only two that don't stir are Arsalan and Sama. I'm bent over one of the bags when Kas kneels down across from me.

"So which direction do we need to head in? The faster we're out of these mazes the better it will be for everyone." Together we glance off at the Hassassin who pets one of the horses absentmindedly; his gaze every so often slipping off to glare at Sama's sleeping form.

"I agree, but I'm honestly not sure. These caverns have very few survivors who have made it through successfully and they're all in the city of Samura. We can't exactly teleport there and ask them for a map and then come back."

"If we could do that then all we'd have to do is teleport out of here." He drops the empty canteen into the saddle bag and smiles.

I look up from the bag and lock my gaze with his. For a second it takes longer than it should for me to catch on to what he said. "Oh. Right."

"Still half asleep this morning?" Kas chuckles.

"No." My eyes, against my will, travel down his jaw and settle on the hollow of his collar bone where his V-neck shirt has fallen open to the wind. A flash of memory quickly flickers across my mind, bearing a vision from last night when I saw him with his shirt off and behind it is a very familiar, echoing chuckle of amusement.

I click my jaw shut, shut my eyes angrily, and tap the bracelet against a nearby stone. Kas glance up at me curiously, his gaze glimpsing at the jewel chain around my forearm.

"You okay?" He asks slowly.

"Yep. I know how to control this thing now, but sometimes it likes to have a mind of its own." I growl the last statement and aim it at the Aeon. Kas just laughs and returns to packing the bags. I turn around to grab the bag behind me to tie it to the saddles and a flicker of movement catches my attention from above. I shift my gaze to the top of a tall rock pillar nearby. A small stone falls over in a gust of stronger than average wind.

After a moment of debating, I pass it as nothing. Maybe the wind would bring some rain.

Yeah right.

"Dang is it time to get up already?" Sama sits up, rubbing her eyes. "So what all do we have to pack up?"

"Nothing. We've done it all, mistress of the waking dead." I roll my eyes.

"Not funny! I didn't sleep that long. There's got to be something…else I can…do…" She stands up and looks around at the empty campsite. We all stare at her with grins and smiles. "Or…not."

"Or not." I agree.

Sama hurls her pillow at me. "Well, excuse me, miss gotta-do-everything-so-perfect."

I duck the pillow and catch it as it rebounds off the horse's side. Again, something moves out of the corner of my eye and another small stone falls off the top of a larger boulder that sits on the ground. The wind picks up again, twirling my hair through the gale. I don't catch a change in the scent of the air; not that I have the nose of an animal or anything.

The Aeon around my arm begins to tingle and burn, forcing my eyes to look down at it. I notice then that a few of the clear glass jewels are empty of its sand. And now another jewel is going empty right before my eyes.

'Here we go again.' I think, my eyes going wide in horror.

Again, everything tears to a halting stop and I'm thrust forward in time. I watch everything run ahead in front of me, even my own body, and I watch as my body spins around and slams a foot into the neck of someone coming down on me from above. He had jumped from the top of one of the stone pillars around us, and there are more. The one I cripple in the neck falls into the fetal position, grasping his neck, at my feet and I rush forward for my swords which are at rest on the top of one of the saddle bags. Everything is happening so slow that it tires my eyes just trying to watch. So I settle for focusing on the man I slammed the heel of my foot into his throat. He twitches in the sand.

He'll probably never talk again. Seeing it happen, I shouldn't have done something so life changing to anyone, no matter if he was attacking me or not. I could have just twisted his arm out of socket or something and brought him to the ground just as easy.

The sun gleaming off a blade makes me look up at the slow motion scene before me. Sama has taken out five guys who haven't even had a chance to climb out of their hideouts with throwing darts.

Firuz is pulling out a string of a round object that fits snuggly into his palm and hurls it into the rock wall high above where it explodes and sends an avalanche of rocks down onto another group of men. Kas is handling a group of six that has surrounded him with perfect ease. Arsalan picks up a scrawny squirt and tosses him easily into two guys that are rushing at him with spears.

Everyone is fighting to survive.

All but one.

The Hassassin sits where he has the entire time, but he doesn't watch the battle around him. He's staring right at me as if he can see me. I can't entirely see his eyes, but I can see what I hadn't before. His eyes gleam red behind the shadows of the mask. And those deadly eyes are locked on my own gaze.

_Choose._

I gasp as my vision is zeroed in on each of my friends, one at a time.

Sama, dodging attacks left and right, has failed to see the archer about twenty feet away, aiming a deadly arrow straight at her back. He starts to pull back the bow.

Firuz, spins around, readying another explosive in his hand, but he can't catch on quick enough to the spear he's about to run straight into. His attacker raises the long spear towards the small boy.

Arsalan is being surrounded quicker than he can keep up with and about four men are readying to lasso him down like a horse while a few others are waiting with knives to cleave open his throat. Or worse: his heart.

Kas has taken out almost all of the men, but one, not far away is swinging a chain over his head with a long, lethal looking jagged blade connected at the end. One hit with that could sever his head from his shoulders easily.

All the while, my body is still diving for my blades.

All the while, the Hassassin stares right at me where I float in the air, watching all of this take place.

_Choose._

'I can't! If I choose one, then all the others will die! How can I choose that?' I scream in my mind.

_Then choose wisely._

My vision is directed elsewhere. Out of the canyons, rides a new wave of men, two are on black as night horses. My eyes widen in surprise. These two men are different. They wear armor that the other men don't. They carry a pride that can only scream leaders.

'I've chosen.'

_Then fight._

I'm thrust back into my body, the scene exploding into sand, and I've returned to the quiet time I left, staring down at the Aeon on my arm. The sand finishes disappearing out of the jewel I had been looking at before. A hum settles through the bracelet, letting me know that the time is approaching.

Spinning around, my eyes zoom and find him easily. Those red eyes of the Hassassin. Only this time, I can't see his eyes anymore; only the dark shadows his mask creates. He nods stiffly.

'He knows.' I gasp in my mind. I shift my gaze to my blades and then back to him.

Like a snap, time relives around me, recreating the scene I had just seen, only this time-I know what to do.

I grin.

* * *

I sense the change in the air the second I glance up at Daria. She stares down at the Aeon as if in a trance and I wonder then just what exactly the bracelet shows her. I look up into her eyes, glazed over and lowered. The bracelet almost seems to glow for a split second and then she suddenly snaps awake.

'**Was** she just in a trance?' I wonder.

Her eyes, those piercing eyes, swing around in a flash quicker than lightning and gaze past me. I follow it. She stares at the Hassassin and he stares back.

'What's going-?'

Before I can finish the thought, I see him nod and then they both move at the same time; throwing us all off guard.

From somewhere above, a man falls down on Daria and she grabs his arm that bares a knife at her back and jerks his arm back at an alarming rate. I can hear the bone come loose even from here.

Glancing over my shoulder, the Hassassin has flipped back with great grace, his black cape billowing behind him, and then he slips off his bindings with a whisper and the ropes fall at his feet at his command like they're nothing. He produces that deadly whip he carries from nowhere and hurls it at a nearby pillar. The barbed edges, grip into the rock it wraps and with a tug, he brings the ten foot pillar down like a stack of paper, killing two hidden men along with it.

Shouts and war cries break out around us and men swarm out at us from all directions, forcing me to move and dive for my blades in the saddle bags on my horse. My mount rears up and cries in fright, but I refuse to untie him from the tree for fear of losing him. Ignoring the frightened animal, I rip out my weapons and try to head for Daria who has started to head for her blades that are sitting up on a boulder, but I'm soon surrounded.

"Drop the swords boy and we'll let you live."

"Yeah, like I haven't heard that one before." I shake my head and ready myself, letting my blades gleam in the sun.

* * *

My body flies through the air and as I pass over the rock and my hands close around the sheaths of my swords, two arrows wiz past my waist and head. I roll into a ball and flip across the ground to keep from hurting myself and then take a step in Kas's direction. I forget all of two seconds what I'm supposed to do.

_Choose._

I stop mid-run. I swing my gaze to the canyons and sure enough, aside from the death each of my comrades are about to face, my eyes target them through all the chaos. I've only got one shot and not enough time.

I take off and skit right through the path of the archer who aims at Sama, dodge the spear that's heading straight for Firuz, duck under the lassos that are ready to be tossed around Arsalan, and just barely fight the urge to run to Kas's side even though I can just see the chained blades they're swinging over their heads in the corner of my vision.

'I don't have enough time. I won't make it!'

_Then fight._

"AGGGHHH!" Leaping into the air, getting far enough above the heads of the battle ground around me, I cast my sword, blade aimed straight for the kill-straight for the chest-but I shift its direction ever so slightly before it can leave my hand.

There's a scream from somewhere behind me and I recognize it as Sama's. Am I too late?

'No…'

The sword strikes straight and true, piercing like a hot knife through ice, through the shoulder of the younger looking leader, deadly close to his heart. Not even the armor can save him from my blade. Not many types of armor can hold up against our weapons. Hirens know how to meld weapons. They are made to kill; made to protect.

There's nothing but silence that follows. Everyone stops mid fight and I land easily on the ground, one knee hitting the sand. For a long moment no one moves.

We all watch as the leader stares at the sword protruding from his left shoulder and then he slips off his horse in a dead weight, hitting the ground with a thud. The war cries that follow are much louder then, all around me men raise up swords and spears into the air. The next thing I know, hands from everywhere are falling on me faster than I can blink.

_Let them take you._

'You're the boss.' I think to the voice. It hums in content.

* * *

His boots scrap the ground as he paces slowly back and forth in front of us. It took them forever to get Sama tied down. Apparently, before the archer could take his shot, the Hassassin had slung his neck up in his whip and hung him before his fingers could let go. That's why she screamed.

I shake my head, angry at myself for allowing myself to think that she had let herself get hurt. I sigh, ignoring the burning irritation throbbing through my legs because I've been forced to kneel here for so long. It's annoying the crap out of me, but what can I do?

I glance up at the top of the tent that had been set up for the army leader. 'At least we're out of the sun.' I shrug.

Next to me, Sama glares at the Hassassin across from her. He had willingly surrendered and they bound him same as us. He now kneels across from us with Arsalan and Kas facing us as well. Three on either side of this man's pacing path; like slaves.

He finally stops in front of me the second I drop my eyes to the rug under us. Good thing he hadn't made us kneel in the sand. That would've been even more annoying.

His voice, deep like a horn, finally speaks to us. I blink in surprise. "So how should I go about with your punishment?"

"Punishment?" Firuz asks. The guard behind him snaps a hard hand against the back of his head and we all jerk as if we too can feel the pain. All except the Hassassin. He just shakes his head.

"I thought you could get us through here without any trouble?" Sama hisses at him.

"Sama, shut up." I state flatly.

She glares at me.

"All of you shut up." The black clad man orders. I can faintly hear the guard behind me tighten his grip on a piece of leather used to choke victims slowly. "Now," He sits down into a chair at the end of his pacing line, "How would you like to be punished?"

"What, exactly, are we being punished for?" Kas asks carefully.

The guard behind him is about to strike him with the end of his sword sheath, but the leader holds up his hand. "Simple. You can thank your girl here for stabbing my younger brother and your Hassassin friend for the death of my best archer."

"He isn't our friend." Sama grumbles under her breath. I nudge her sharply in the ribs with my elbow. "Ow!"

I keep my gaze on the floor, though, sketching the patterns with my eyes. It looks like a rug I once stole from a palace and then sold in the market right outside for so much more than it's worth with a made up story. I wonder if this is the same one.

So far, the conversation bores me. So what if I stabbed his son or brother or whatever he said? I didn't kill him. A grin plasters on my face. No, I hadn't killed him. I could have if I wanted to though. Easily.

"No response then, eh?" The leader leans forward in his chair and then stands up fully and comes towards me. I don't even hear a word he says until he starts towards me. "Then why don't I just kill you here and now?" His big, sweaty hand grabs my around my throat and lifts my face to his. I glare in surprise. Why is he so grabby all of a sudden?

"Uh, sir, I'd be careful with this one." The guard behind me stumbles nervously. I can feel the tip of something sharp run gently across the small of my back, lifting my cape away from my back. I grin again.

"And why would I do that?"

"She a Hiren." His voice stumbles and trails off in horror.

The leader's eyes fall to mine in shock. "Well, well, well. I thought they were all extinct now. I heard about the attack on you small village, little one. It must be terrible to know you're the last of your kind."

"It would be." I roll my eyes in agreement. "If I were the last one."

Sama tries not to laugh next to me. The leader's smile vanishes. "So a few survived did they?"

"More than just your average few." I tell him with pride. "Our best fighters are still surviving and more were not in our village at the time of the attack so they'll soon join them as well. So, no, I'd say more than just a few."

His hand releases my neck and settles on just holding my chin up. "Well, good for you, but that still leaves one big problem." He motions with his hand towards the Hassassin. "Either you both die by my hand, or…" He grins again, his beard rustling along with it. "You can kill each other. I do say we haven't had much entertainment since no one travels through our Pass much these days."

My own smile fades, but I keep all emotion from my face. Me kill him? Sure, why not? He killed my people so it won't be hard for me to do just that. But…if I do…

That vision of Sama's happy smile begins to fade, being replaced by the horrible image of her lying dead in her own blood.

I blink it away.

"Hit a nerve, did I?"

"Worse." I groan. "You gave me too much to think about. It's too early for this kinda pressure on my brain." I hope he buys my act. I try to play off being lazy. Maybe he won't realize that I'm one of those 'best fighters' in my village **and** I'm being protected by the Aeon…sorta.

The leader laughs, dropping my face sharply. I shift my jaw back and forth to see if it's knocked loose, but it slides perfectly fine. "Well, in that case, take your time. This should be a great day. I can feel it."

'Will it be?' I wonder, thinking about the Aeon. As if on cue, it begins to hum and a flash of picture rushes across my vision so fast that I don't have time to register it. 'What was that? That's was cheap!'

The voice's laugh echoes through my mind.

I roll my eyes.

"Well, as it was **my** good nature to let you make this decision, then I will again let you have the time to make your choice." He laughs, sitting back in his chair. A young man enters through the tent opening and starts shouting orders.

"Alright, you heard the General. Take the prisoners outside to the posts and tie them up until they are ready to talk."

The guards behind us grab us by our bindings and pull us to our feet. I have to admit it's sort of painful, but not as painful as it'll be to have to fight the Hassassin. I don't want to see Sama die before my eyes.

The guards drag us out into the blazing sun and then throw us down into seating positions by long wooded posts that have been set up in a row. Six of them. They then proceed to tie us to them, our arms behind our backs. Nearby, I can hear our horses chewing on a very dry bed of grass behind us. At least they didn't run them off. I don't think I can **walk** all the way to the Scar.

"So…now what?" Sama asks when they finally leave us in silence. "Are you finally gonna take the chance to kill-?"

"Shut up, Sama." I cut her off the second I catch on to what she's about to say.

"I think we need to find a way out of here instead." Firuz suggests, rubbing the back of his head against the pole. He must have gotten hit harder than I thought.

"We can try to call the horses over here and see if they'll chew on the ropes." Arsalan says.

"That only works in stories, Arsalan." Kas grunts, working to pull at his bindings. "You out yet, Daria?"

"Who says I'm trying to get out?" I sigh, sliding down the pole a bit until I slouch against it. "Might as well get comfortable."

"Are you serious?" Sama snaps.

"Yep. Even if I tell him I don't want to fight, he's just going to kill us. To do that, he'll have to release us from these poles. That's when I'll start fighting."

"Nice plan. One problem." The Hassassin calls.

"What?" Sama growls.

"They could just have us shot. They still have plenty of archers left."

"But you took out their best one." I answer.

"But not all of them." He counters.

I think about that. "Hmm. You got a point."

"You're agreeing with him now?" Sama huffs angrily. "Pretty soon you'll be laughing with him and calling him buddy."

"Better than being dead." He calls back.

For some reason, his words make me go cold. It doesn't sound like he's talking about himself. 'Does he know about the vision I saw of Sama.' I wonder.

Leaning forward, I glance around Kas to look at him. He turns his head slightly towards me and I know he's looking right at me. I can't look away. The only thing that breaks my concentration is Sama's voice.

"I can fix that for you, blackie!"

"Would both of you shut up? You're giving me a head ach!" Kas shouts.

We all jerk in surprise. I've never heard him yell like that before. What's wrong with him? He draws up his legs and shuts his eyes angrily. His breathing is much heavier than it was a minute ago.

"Hey, Kas, you okay?" Arsalan calls worriedly.

"Fine." He answers.

'What is going on?' I can't read his expression. He won't look at me.

"All this yelling must mean that you have an answer for the General."

We all look up at the voice. The young guard who had taken them outside stands before them. His hands are folded behind his back and he stands in the traditional military style. His eyes are cold and hard; glaring through the sun directly at me.

I force a kind smile and shake my head. "No, not yet."

He turns away without a second glance.

I sigh, but quickly suck it back up when I spot him pick up a wrap of cloth. My father's swords are inside that cloth. My wide eyes narrow dangerously. No one touches those. They're mine to hold only.

"Sama," I start, "You ever tell anyone what I'm about to do, I'll slit your throat."

She turns her eyes to me slowly. "What…exactly…are you going to do?"

"I'm going to use the one lesson I hated learning more than anything back at home."

"And that would be?"

"I'm going to have to seduce him."

* * *

_So not what you think! No one rush to any ideas! It isn't going to be going that far!_

_She's only going to…well if I tell you then it'll be a waste of time to write the story. Just wait and see._

_Thanks to all my loyal readers and people who faved the story! You guys are AWESOME!_

_Once more, all town names and geography is made up out of my lazy imagination because I'm too hard-headed and…well, lazy to bother looking any of it up. Sooooo sorry, but please bear with me._

_Again, thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted, and commented! I welcome more advice. And also thanks to those who read as well!_

_Please continue on with my story and review with all the help you can give! (I love me some reviews!)_


	18. Chapter 18: Death Hurts

_Okay, new upload! Enjoy!_

_This chapter holds a very sad ending to it though. Even I cried. I had to kill off this character though. If I hadn't then it would mess up the storyline I have planned and I wouldn't be able to push Daria and Kas together. And that would mean less torture for Daria._

_Hope when you read of the character's passing you won't chew me out too badly._

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_(__**Disclaimer**__: I do __NOT__ own Prince of Persia or their characters. Only Daria, Sama, and any new characters that show up are mine. The Aeon bracelet belongs to me, Blue Rowan, and her sister. The storyline also belongs to me.)_

* * *

*Chapter 18*

"What-?" Sama hisses, but I don't hear here, I'm too busy working the ropes around my wrists. Already they start to slip to the ground like a snake coiling into itself.

Clearing my throat, I easily slip into character. "I've got my answer." I try to make my voice sound smooth and open, like an invitation.

One of the five guards near me heads over with a nod. As he approaches, I slip the ropes just right so they seem to still hold tight around my wrist and the guard doesn't notice a thing as he cuts what he believe to be still bound ropes around my hands. I open my fingers and the ropes slip off. He grabs my arm and we head towards the tent.

"Daria." Sama hisses her warning.

'Sorry, Sama. No one touches those blades.' I think as I fake a stumble over an invisible rock.

"Watch your feet." The guard orders.

"Sorry. I'm so clumsy." I laugh. He raises an eye brow at the smile I give him. As we approach the tent, he loosens his hold and pulls back the tent doors.

"Sir, she has decided."

"Ah, good! Bring her forth!"

'Bring her forth. He makes me sound like a show horse.' I nearly roll my eyes in annoyance. "Good, good." He points to the ground in front of him, taking a grape from the bowl a servant boy holds up to him. "Now, what have you decided?"

Keeping the act up, I let my eyes fall and pucker my face up like a pouting woman who's greatly saddened. I can hear him swallow harder this time. "Well, I don't really like to talk about such decisions except with the person I'm dealing with. It makes me so very nervous." I scratch my cheek and glance up through my eyelashes hopefully.

The General blinks a few times, caught off guard by my different character. I think back on what I should do next.

What would my sister do? She was taking the class with me way back when.

"_Man, this is so unfair!" A young Daria complains, crossing her arms. "Why do I have to take this stupid lesson? It isn't right!"_

"_It will help in your missions when you're hired. You never know what your employers will need from you." Nari smiles down at her, wrapping a warm arm around her._

_Daria shrugs it off. "I'll only fight then. I won't take missions like these."_

"_That's not fair, Daria. What about the rest of us. Are you just going to let us carry that burden?"_

"_You don't have to!"_

"_Then what will those of us do who don't have any skill in battle? Should we sit home and do nothing? How would we survive then?" Nari sighs as Daria turns away and crosses her arms again stubbornly. "I know it's not the best life, my sister, but it's the way things are in this world now a days. We fight any way we can or die. That is who we are."_

'And that's why I left.' Daria answers the memories that have haunted her since she ran from home. That one conversation with her eldest sister had started it all.

Again, I gaze up at the General with that girly hopeful stare and he spits out a seed. "Guards, get out. I'll call you in when I have the news."

"But, sir-."

"Go!" He shouts. They all file out like good little ants in a row and I'm left alone with the thick man. "Well, young woman, what do you say to my offer?"

Already his tone towards me has lost its edge. I guess some of those lessons sank in after all…no matter how much I slept through them. I squirm uncomfortably on top of my legs where I'm forced to kneel on the sand. The rough ground sticks into me like needles. They had once more bound my arms behind my back before they left.

"Alright, to tell you the truth, I have no fighting experience what so ever, so killing us straight out is the only real option, which in turn isn't very fun for you or your men after such long days in the desert."

He leans forward in his seat, propping his chin up on his knuckles. "You speak as if you too have spent much time in the sands."

"Yes, I have. My servants and I are traveling to the city of Samira where my brother is. He is currently undergoing his coronation."

"Coronation?" His eyes widen a bit.

"Yes, he is soon to become King." I lower my eyes sadly again. "I wish so much that he rules with justice."

"So you're his younger sister?" The General grins. "So a desert Princess you are, is it?"

"Of course, but the title is s heavy burden to me." I cannot believe this lie is actually working. I hold back a smile.

"Come forward, your highness." He ushers me forward with a flick of his wrist. "If I had known we were among royalty, I would have ordered my men to treat you more gently. But a question has come to my mind: how is it you were able to attack my younger brother?"

I have gotten to my feet and taken a step towards the man, but I stop. Crap, I hadn't thought about that. I had hurled my sword through him, hadn't I? Whoops. Now, how to explain this little detail…

"Well?" He urges me to continue, an amused smile lighting his round cheeks.

I drop my head once more, letting out a fake sob. "Oh, it's terrible! My father told me that my business was to stay home and be the princess but I couldn't help myself. I have my mother's love of adventure so I ran from home. My brother found out my plan and taught me the deadly move that you had to witness. He didn't want me traveling without a single way to defend myself, so he showed it to me before I left. I'm sorry it was so terrible. I thought for sure I'd miss since I've never been able to hit anything before. My servants usually do all the fighting if we come across trouble so I've never really taken the time to practice it."

The General's smile falters and his eyebrows pull together. "Is that so?" He leans forward again and touches my shoulder, I allow him to turn me around just enough to start untying the ropes around my arms. His fingers pause around the bracelet.

"I don't know what to do to help my servants half the time because I'm so useless. That's when I met the man in black and I thought that maybe by hiring him it would take some of the stress off their jobs."

"How noble of you, but isn't it their job to take on the stress and not a princess?" The General asks.

I fight the smile as I turn back to him, rubbing my wrist. The ropes weren't as tight as they thought they were and I had already had them unbound most of the way by the time the General got to them. I mentally grin at the fact. Even though I suck in the flirting department, I'm a master with ropes and locks.

"I'm like my mother in that part of my personality." I shrug.

"Why don't you tell me a bit more about your personality, my princess?" He motions to the thick, fluffy pile of pillows next to him where the servant boy had been. His large oily hand lingers across the bare skin of my shoulder gently and I try not to fling it off in disgust…or gag…or squirm.

'Ew!' I flinch mentally.

"What all do you want to know?" I ask, keeping a naïve look on my face. It throws him off perfectly and he smiles like a flirtatious fool

"Everything, my dear." He traces the edge of my jaw, leaning down towards me, and lifting my chin ever so slightly. His eyes turn darker with desire.

* * *

"What is she doing in there?" Sama hisses, pulling faster at her ropes as she struggles to try and get a peek into the ever darkening tent. "Grrr!"

"Calm down, Sama. She knows what she's doing…I think." Firuz scrunches his face up worriedly, his gaze too stopping to peer at the tent as if he can somehow miraculously see through it.

Their efforts astound me. This is Daria we're talking about. She probably already has him on his knees begging for her not to kill him.

"_I'm going to have to seduce him_." She had said.

'Seduce him…seriously?' Why does that thought annoy me so? Again, I shift, kicking my leg out at the rock in front of me angrily. The sun is making me irritable. Or is it the Hassassin?

Who doesn't quit _staring_ at me!

I swing my glare at him and growl "What do you want already?"

Even though his eyes are guarded from all sight, I can tell his facial emotion changes to one of amusement. It annoys me to no end. "You're worried about her."

One statement. Nothing else.

"What?"

He motions towards the tent with his chin.

I follow his direction and shake my head. "I just want her to hurry up and get us loose. I'm hot."

"Really? Or is it the fact that you can't have her attention anymore?"

I frown at him, making my confusion clear.

"Before I came along, all her arguments were with you, I'm sure." He nods with a grin. "You two don't seem like two people to get along. After I came and ruined her life, all she can seem to look at is me."

His words thread through me, but I don't understand them. What does he mean?

"Don't be jealous. I won't keep her for long." His grin turns dark, almost playful and it spikes my anger through the roof; if we had one above us.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Shut up over there!" A guard shouts, grabbing our attention.

"Would you stop trying to get their attention, Kas! I'm almost out. I may not be as fast as Daria with knots and such, but she's taught me enough. Just give me one more minute…" Sama appears to be talking with herself as she leans forward off the post a few times, trying to maneuver the rope around her wrist to a spot where her fingers can begin picking the ends free. She suddenly stops, a light bulb going off in her head. "Wait a second."

She leans forward again and glares at the Hassassin.

"Yo, you got out of your ropes that we tied you in. How come you can't get out now?"

"I don't want to." He responds flatly with not so much as a glance in her direction.

Sama narrows her eyes at him. "Why not? With us tied up, you can wiggle out and escape from us easily. What's keeping you here?"

At first I don't think he's going to answer. Sure, now that Sama has brought up the subject, I want to know why the Hassassin stays here too, but he just sits there, staring off at the guards motionlessly. Then, he turns towards her, staring around me directly into her eyes.

"My promise…and you."

Sama's glare falls off her face and her jaw drops in blank shock. I want to know so badly what she's thinking right now. "Since when are you so noble?"

"ARGGGHH!"

The shriek makes us all jump in fright, turning just in time to watch a thick body roll out of the tent with a strong force. A small flash of movement follows after landing above the body, feet planting on the ground on each side of the man's form.

The guards jump to their feet but stop cold.

The big General is on his back, face pale as snow and a thick shine of sweat glistens across his forehead, while above him, drawing a blade from behind her, Daria bares the unknown blade to his neck. The blade, shaped like a swaying flame, is carved with designs across the metal; like square puzzle pieces. The black leather that had once wrapped the handles now falls away to reveal a white marble handle that gleams in the sunlight. The gold chains with the green jewels rap against each other like wind chimes in the breeze.

"Now that I got your attention let me lay down one rule." Daria glares down at him with eyes that are almost identical to the eyes I saw her use against the Hassassin. I'm not worried though, I can make out the sliver of strong control she has over her emotions. She's not lost. "**No one** touches these blades but me."

Sama's hands come loose then and she's falling on the nearest soldier in a second, grabbing him around the neck and strangling him until he falls unconscious. "Daria!" She starts to race to her friend's aid but two soldiers step in her path, one baring a spear right at her chest.

The Hassassin is up on his feet in an instant, swinging his barbed whip easily around Sama's waist and drawing her back just before the spear can run her through. I sigh, but Sama isn't as appreciative. She jumps up as he leaps over her and the guards fall before him without him even touching them.

"Hey, they were mine!" She shouts.

"Stop running straight at the threat. Not all enemies can be taken down with a straight forward attack." He answers as she comes to his side to glare at him. He's pulling the mask down carefully over his nose as if he had lifted it a moment ago.

"No, please!" The General pleads. "Don't kill me. I'll let you go, just don't kill me!"

Daria raises her head, taking in the army before her. "You heard him."

One by one, we are released and I make my way over to her side. "I thought you said you weren't ready to draw them."

"I didn't think I was, but…" Her voice trails off as she gazes down at the blade in her hand. "It's light. They both are. They feel like extensions of my own arm…but so do my other blades."

Wrapping them back up, I realize that she only drew her father's blade because she needed too. Who knows when she'll think she's ready. I hope I'm around to see it the day she does.

Daria stands to her feet and smiles at me.

The words spill out on their own accord. "Did you really seduce him?" I squeeze my eyes shut in annoyance at myself.

She stares at me for a second as if she doesn't understand what I'm asking, but then her gaze shifts to the cowering General lying in the sand. Her lips curl up in disgust.

"Heck no, but I did have to suffer through a kiss. Talk about nightmare."

The tone I her voice makes me sigh for some reason, so I draw it back in. I won't let the Hassassin be right. Never.

* * *

I strap my father's swords back onto my horse's saddle, watching with a grin as Sama paces around the group of soldiers she has tied up on the ground. All of them are bunched together like a sausage wrap with the General smashed in the center. She had removed all their shoes and armor, tied it to their horses, and sent the frightened beast running into the labyrinth around them. The Ngbaka was having a bit too much fun, but I'm not about to get in her way. Not while she's in this kind of mood.

I shield my eyes with my hand and look up at the sun lit sky.

Not too much longer and the bright sphere would be setting behind the canyons; perfect time to travel. Maybe they could get out of here before they stopped to rest.

Nearby arguing catches my attention and I bend over to peek under Pilfer's neck. Arsalan and Firuz are going at something and I don't think anything will stop them anytime soon…except food. Maybe.

I finish tying my saddle bags on and then climb up onto Pilfer's back. "We're heading out!"

Sama and Kas are the next to follow, swinging up onto their mounts. Arsalan and Firuz glare at each other for the longest time without saying anything.

"Come on, you two. We'll leave you here if you don't hurry." Sama chuckles and turns her horse around. We all tip our invisible hats to the tied up prisoners before riding off into the canyons beyond. I glance back over my shoulder to find, shockingly, the Hassassin walking along behind me.

"You haven't run off yet?" I ask him. He doesn't move to answer so I let it go. "Wow. Well, I put a canteen of water in the saddle bag in the back for you. I took it from one of the soldiers."

Again he doesn't answer.

I give up and shrug. I start to think that maybe we should tie his wrists back up but then I remember the way her had come to Sama's aid twice. Once from the archer and the other to stop her from running in the spears aimed at her chest.

'I'll let him have a break, but only for a little while.' I think, glancing down with a smile.

"So where do we go exactly?" Sama calls worriedly from the front of our group.

"Uh…"

She pulls her horse to a stop and spins around. "Again, quit with the 'uh' answers. Don't tell me you don't remember."

"It's been years since I've come through here. You know that!" I stick my tongue out at her.

"Follow the sun till the next split off and go left."

We all turn to the Hassassin.

He just loves to speak up randomly doesn't he?

"Take it all the way down."

"Then where?" Sama continues.

"I'll tell you when we get there."

The Ngbaka growls loudly, sending her frustration bouncing off the rock walls around us. We all laugh.

After that, we rode in silence, every so often asking a question or telling a joke we learned in the past, but other than that, not a single deep conversation takes place. It's rather quite.

Too quite in fact.

My eyes jerk up from Pilfer's mane and start scanning the tops of the canyons, finding nothing. The sunlight is suddenly cut off out of nowhere and I look up again. A large rock arch stretches from one side of the canyon to the other.

'Wow, I would love to see the view from up there.'

"Recognize anything yet, Daria?" Sama groans.

I drop my eyes to glare at her back. "No." Again I glance at the arch. "I don't really remember that…either."

The group follows my finger that points into the air. They too are captured in awe.

"Wow, we could find the exit easily from up there!" Sama stands in her saddle. "Hey, Blackie, go be a look out."

"Sama!"

"What?" She shrugs.

"If you wish." The Hassassin shrugs and walks to the edge of the canyon wall. He blurs into black and silver as he moves in a zigzag manner up the wall. I cringe at the way he moves. He really isn't human and that's just weirder.

Once at the top, he strides over to the arch way and stops in the center of it, right above us. He scans the horizon far beyond out or our view.

"It doesn't look too far from up here, but I'm not too sure."

"Yes!" My friend chuckles in relief, slouching in her saddle. Her horse shakes his head in disapproval. "We'll be out of this hell hole by night fall. Thank the gods above."

"Stop being so loud or you'll call out the beast." The Hassassin warns.

Sama jerks straight up like a board and I pat her shoulder as I pass. "Calm down. He's just kidding." She doesn't seem convinced. As we ride on, following the Hassassin's direction from the canyon tops, I start to really think about this rumored beast. It's supposed to look like a snake right? How can a snake that big slide across this rocky ground? My gaze wonders to the dirt. Sometimes jagged rocks will stretch out farther than others from the wall here and there; no signs of wear from a sliding beast. So then, it can't be real. Right?

"The mountains open up in about four more miles." The Hassassin calls.

I nod.

"Can we race to the end?"

"No," I glare at her childish fear, "The Hassassin wouldn't be able to keep up with us."

"Blackie can take care of himself. I say we leave him out here for the beast. Some say it lets you pass if you leave a sacrifice." She suggests. I slap her arm.

"Then maybe all those people found half dead were the people left behind as bait and who barely got away from the thing alive."

"So you believe me now!"

I roll my eyes.

An uproar of shouts echo from behind us and both Sama and I turn slowly around in our saddles.

'There ain't no way…' I think.

The path behind us is empty, but I can just start to make out a sound. It's like a hum at first, but then it roughs out and becomes like a beat. Dust kicks up and then out of nowhere the army we had tied up and left for dead comes barreling around the corner, waving a kite that resembles a 3-D snake with horns.

"There's your snake." I spit at her.

"That's terrible…and so not funny." She growls at me.

"Move!" The Hassassin shouts at us. Already, Kas, Arsalan, and Firuz are racing away. We kick our horses into an all-out gallop and take off after them. I totally didn't see this coming. I didn't think they could escape and recuperate so fast. I guess I should stop underestimating people…?

"Daria, stop spacing out! What are we going to do?"

Everyone starts screaming at me as if I'm the unspoken leader. "How the heck should I know? You people come up with something!" I push Pilfer harder and she takes to the front of the group easily. "All I know is that their horses are war stallions and bred to run. Our aren't. They'll overtake us in no time."

"The exits coming up!" A black shadow descends and lands far ahead of us.

"Someone grab him!" I order.

Sama reaches out on instinct and swings the Hassassin on behind her. "How the heck do you run so fast?"

"Don't ask." He replies.

"Geez, you are so-!"

"Shut up, already!" Kas and I snap. I glance back over my shoulder again. Already they've gained three miles on us. They're all but snapping at our heels.

"The exit is a mile ahead, but there's a problem."

I spin to the Hassassin. "What?"

He points up ahead of us and I squint to try and find out what horror lies before us. The kicked up dust is not helping. I read the four miles ahead, all of those being between us and the opening in the canyons. Very little ground remains after that before my eyes find a deep dark gash in the earth; much too wide for the horses to jump.

"So that's what the 'Great Divide' was on the map!" I curse under my breath. It literally meant a gap and I was really hoping it wasn't. That's my luck for you.

"What are we going to do?" Sama cries over the horses hooves.

'Dang, I don't know!' I want to scream.

I glance back once more. They have gained more ground. They'll be on us any second. That or the earth would swallow us whole. I didn't favor either one honestly. "Okay, we can't jump. When you get to the end, everyone go to the left."

"How is that going to help?"

"What if there isn't any more ground to the left?" Kas yells.

"Then let's hope the gods help us out, shall we?" Yeah like that would work. Maybe I could ask the bracelet to stop time and we somehow find a way to walk across the frozen time across the gap. Man, my imagination is dying a little more every day I spend in this heat.

The shouts of death behind us are beginning to become coherent.

"Forget the rest. I want that girl's head on a post!"

That's the big bad General. I guess I embarrassed him. I permit a grin to creep onto my face for a second. Well, if all this doesn't go well, at least I know my head will be able to warn other's away from this Pass…unless they're canibals.

I shiver at the thought that they may stake my head on a post only to roast it over an open fire.

'But they only want me.' I think. 'That means…'

The mountains open up and I pull Pilfer to a stop along with the others so that we can all head left, but I gaze to my right and find the ledge rise along the canyon wall, leading up it like a ramp. 'I can lead them away from the others and they can get away.'

I jerk Pilfer to the right and she stomps up the sharp incline.

The army hauls their steeds to a standstill and the General shouts orders again. "I said forget them! Get her! Get her!"

'Thank you!' I nod.

I know I'm probably ticking Sama off for this stunt, but I'll deal with that later. I allow Pilfer to only pause a second to watch the soldiers begin to file their horse up the ramp after me before spinning her around and racing off across the canyon top; the sun beating directly down on my already burning shoulders. I'll have a new layer of tan pretty soon.

Pilfer leaps across canyon top to canyon top, racing on, and the soldiers are right there the entire time.

"Come on, Pilfer!" I encourage her.

_Go left now!_

I blink in surprise at the voice of Aeon as it slides across my mind.

My eyes shift to my left and a little ahead of me. The canyon top stretches out a ways across the gap. 'I could make that.'

I turn Pilfer and she seems to pick up on my plan, speeding up as much as her legs will let her. The ledge comes up faster than I want and my determination falters under me like fragile glass. Pilfer doesn't though. She's always had a stubborn back bone in her. It's like she thinks she's better than me sometimes; demanding she get fed first before me, always insistent when pressing for my attention, throwing a tantrum when I don't wash her down like promised, or biting me when I say something offending. We've got a very strict love/hate relationship, but she's always been a good horse. I wouldn't trade her for anything.

The ledge drops out from under us before I can give up on the idea and pull her to a stop. She jumps high, kicking off powerfully with her back legs. I swear time slows.

I throw my arms up over my face, but it doesn't help. The second the ground meets us, I'm thrown forward across the dry, hard ground; flipping over and over heavily until I lose track of which way is up or down. I can hear Pilfer cry out terribly loudly and dread slams into my gut. I slide across the ground, picking up a trail of dust in my wake, and I become painfully aware of areas of skin across my body that are torn open and exposed to the air. Hot blood heats my flesh.

"Ow." I moan. I think I've had enough adventure for one day.

A loud howling of an animal in pain has me sitting up and forgetting my pain instantly.

"Pilfer!" I struggle to get to my feet. I race to get to her side. A soldier in my line of sight, high up on the ledge across the gap, hurls a long spear and it dives in an arch at my horse. "Hell, no!"

Ripping my whip off my side, I sling it forward and it cracks against the spear, shredding it in half. The half with the spear head, only two foot of it left intact, slides off to the side. I rush past it, plucking it off the ground as it skates across the dirt. I spin so that I give it enough speed and heave it back across the gap. It gores the same fighter who threw it and he falls dead off his horse without even a chance to blink.

"Daria!"

I faintly hear a voice approach me, but I ignore it. "Pilfer? Pilfer, oh no! No, no, no, please!" My voice dies in my throat. "Pilfer, no…"

She lies on her side, kicking wildly, with her big brown eyes rolled back into her head. I place my hands across her cheek and neck. "Shh…Shh…Calm down, big girl." My panting breaks my words, but she somehow stops kicking and settles with just breathing heavily out her nose and mouth. Blood is dripping out between her teeth, clenched tight with agony.

"Daria!" Sama jerks her horse to a stop and leaps down, settling down next to me. "Oh my…" Her voice catches at the sight before her.

I follow her gaze.

Pilfer's back leg is wrenched sickeningly in the wrong direction and the bone severs through the skin and is bare to the air and our eyes. I want to hurl, but I can't find the energy. My vision blurs over and I fight it back, squeezing my eyes shut forcefully. If it's this bad then who knows how much worse it is on the inside. She's already bleeding out of her mouth.

"Daria, we have to go before they decide to take the same route as you did." Sama touches my shoulder gently, careful to keep her eyes away from the carnage. I swallow, eyeing Pilfer carefully.

I can't leave her here. I reach to my ankle and slip out my knife. It slides out of its sheath with an all too clear ringing. "Go." I order.

Sama glances nervously at the warriors gathering at the ledge.

"Go." I repeat through my teeth.

She reluctantly nods and climbs onto her horse, followed by the others. They trot off a bit farther and leave me alone.

I grip my eyes closed again, feeling the fresh, hot tears escape, and press my forehead to Plifer's neck. I use my pointer finger to find the spot on the neck where the dagger needs to meet. Her pulse is high, galloping under my touch. I press the tip of the knife above it, but pause.

"I-I…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Plifer." I fumble with the words. "I love you."

My hand jerks and I thrust the blade into the pulse. I feel the skin and muscle give way under the knife blade, wrenching a loud sob from deep inside me.

Pilfer dies under me.

Her last breath cuts short.

Her body goes limp.

* * *

I didn't want to leave, but now I'm regretting that decision. Having to watch her put her friend, her partner in crime, a part of her, to death is ripping a hole in me deeply. The exposed void left behind is excruciating, but I know what it has opened up for. It's been placed there for me to help her with. I won't ever know how she feels right now; I've never had to put an animal I cared for down, but I've seen it now. I can help her in a small way and I'm thankful for that.

She doesn't pull away from Pilfer's lifeless body right away. I know she can't do it herself.

I walk up behind her and touch her shoulder.

"Daria." I whisper softly. "Come on."

She sobs once more. I sigh and wrap an arm around her stomach carefully, half expecting her to turn on me and stab my own gut in with the bloodied knife in her palm. With my free hand, I pry her cold fingers from the knife that is still embedded into the horse's neck.

"Come on." She comes along willingly, allowing me to support her until we reach my horse. As I stand up, I sheepishly tug the knife out of the flesh, swallowing at the wet sound it makes. I drop it to the ground and lead her over to the brown mare of my own. Daria robotically climbs on and leans forward on the saddle, burying her face into the horse's mane.

I walk back slowly to gather the forgotten saddle bags and swing them over my shoulder. A few of them are harder to pull free from under the horse's dead weight, but I eventually get them and haul them over my mount's back. I finally slip the bloody knife into a clean piece of cloth and tuck it away.

I climb carefully on behind the saddle behind Daria and move the horse forward to catch up with the others. They are waiting patiently ahead for us.

Daria leans back into my chest and hangs her head, going silent as the dead.

* * *

The wind swirls around the dead corpse of the brave horse. A woman slips out from behind a rock, her dark ravens driving off the intruding soldiers across the gap. She watches the group of young people leave slowly, tasting the sadness swarm around them.

Her sound, gray eyes fall to the horse lying on the ground.

Its blood drains pain into the crying earth.

She raises her hand, palm up, and calls to that earth; singing too it a song of healing. The earth trembles under her song and opens up around the carcass carefully and encloses it into the protection of its embrace. It settles down quietly as it had been before.

She then changes her melody, calling to the rocks who come to her plea and circle around the fresh mound until a ring of smooth stones line the grave. White flowers dance impossibly out of the dry dirt and bow over the earthly tomb to finish off her song.

With a smooth ending, her voice trails off into the wind around her, singing off the brave soul's departure to the gods beyond.

"Thank you, for bringing her this far." She whispers.

* * *

_Stop! Don't kill me! Please!_

_I apologize, okay?_

_-Goes to hide under a rock.-_

_Thanks to all my loyal readers and people who faved the story! You guys are AWESOME!_

_Once more, all town names and geography is made up out of my lazy imagination because I'm too hard-headed and…well, lazy to bother looking any of it up. Sooooo sorry, but please bear with me._

_Again, thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted, and commented! I welcome more advice. And also thanks to those who read as well!_

_Please continue on with my story and review with all the help you can give! (I love me some reviews!)_


	19. Chapter 19: Welcome

_Okay, before you say anything! Yes, I know this chapter is amazingly shorter than the last one, but I have an excuse. Final Exams for my college classes are currently taking place so I haven't had much time to write up these new chapters during all my studies._

_I do apologize and I hope this chapter will hold you over for a while._

_I introduce: __**Ayani**__!_

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_(__**Disclaimer**__: I do __NOT__ own Prince of Persia or their characters. Only Daria, Sama, and any new characters that show up are mine. The Aeon bracelet belongs to me, Blue Rowan, and her sister. The storyline also belongs to me.)_

* * *

*Chapter 19*

The fog is so thick in my head that it feels like a two ton weight on my shoulders. I swallow the bile that rises in the back of my throat again as the horse rocks once more. Kas's shoulder is hard, but solid and it's the only thing holding me down from screaming into the sky.

We had headed into the flat plains beyond the divide, following it east, but keeping a good six miles between us and the great drop into no-man's-land. The mountains are like faint outlines beyond it as they spread away from us and the divide towards the south west. A few more hours and they would be gone for good. The divide appears to be getting farther away as well, chasing after the mountains like a lonely puppy refusing to leave its mother's side. The grass plains are new to me entirely.

My eyes remain down, staring at the tall blades of yellow and brown grass that reaches the horses' bellies. I can't find the determination or the energy to pull my eyes up and interact with the group at all. Laying my head against his shoulder is almost comforting, but every time the horse shifts to far one way I'm reminded that I no longer ride Pilfer.

I can't remember how long ago it was. We had stopped at an abandoned well, somehow able to pull up one bucket of hazy water. The horses drank gratefully and Sama refilled her canteen before we moved on. I allowed Kas to sit in front of me in the saddle this time; my hands draped limply across my thighs as I slouch forward against him.

The tall, dry grass brushes across my bare feet, tickling them. I feel a small tug at my lips at the feeling; a joint reaction, not a voluntary reaction.

Something pulls alongside us, and Sama speaks to Kas quietly before turning to touch my shoulder.

"Daria, do you want something to eat?" She asks.

Somehow I locate a small speck of energy deep inside the dark void that has opened inside my heart and pull my gaze up to meet her dark brown, worried eyes. For a long moment, I just stare at her, glad to know at least one of my best friends is still with me, but then her words register in my thoughts. I open my mouth, jaw going slack, and I prepare for my first words in nearly a day. Nothing comes out.

I settle for a nod.

Sama nods and rummages inside one of the saddle bags on the other side of her horse. A moment later an apple is held out in front of me.

Pilfer loved apples more than any other treat. I take it, feeling my eyes turn soft. Sama touches my shoulder again. I know she wants to talk to me but I know that she can tell I'm not ready to yet. She's waiting patiently until I am. I know that when I am, I'll probably break down into uncontrollable fits. Just like I did when I had been on top of tower in the Elder Chamber as my parents burned in front of me.

I stare down at the apple and then slowly raise it to my mouth and bite. The juice fills my mouth and a drop escapes my lips carelessly. I rub it away absentmindedly.

"We need to engage our spy." The Hassassin speaks up out of the blue again and we all come to a halt.

"Spy?" Sama asks. There's no frustration, hostility, or disgust towards him at all, which is totally new. "Who's the spy?"

He spins around and points off into the distance behind him. "I can sense her like an irritation."

We all turn around and shift our gazes across the empty plains.

"Are you sure you're not just getting dizzy from the heat?" Sama nudges her horse forward again, but the Hassassin reaches up and grabs the reins, pulling her horse to a stop.

"She's there."

I turn around and get a look again. There's nothing but dry grass and open fields, brushed over by a soft breeze. Sometimes a grasshopper will jump from a blade to another blade but no other movement exists.

"She uses the elements to hide."

His voice draws my eyes down. He has appeared by our horse where we ride at the back of the group.

"Is this so called spy dangerous?"

The Hassassin glances up at me, his eyes hidden by darkness still, and he shakes his head. "I can only sense her presence, not her intentions."

"Are you dangerous?" I call out to the plains behind us. I can feel Kas jerk a little, surprised at my voice. It's been a while since I've spoken; it surprises me too. The wind rushes in a hurried gust at my voice and lets out a soft wail.

Spinning like a vortex, the winds begin to sparkle with a strange power and then they dance off just as quickly as they had come, leaving behind a thin woman in their wake. She raises her eyes to mine and I blink in surprise. Her gaze is as gray as a storm cloud but as bright as the seas that beat against the shores. It's steady, baring much wisdom in her stare, but not revealing its true depth. Who knows what this woman knows, but I have a feeling she knows more than we think. She wears a long blue robe the shade of the morning sky and the long loose sleeves nearly cover her slim hands. Her pixie-like form seems so frail, but I almost see the power spilling out of her. A sash of darker blue is tied around her thin waste and a strange pin is clasped onto its folds delicately. Her dark, raven black hair is pulled away from her face in an elaborate coil of braids at the back of her head that then cascade down her back to her waste in numerous threads.

The slight breeze around us that had frozen still when she appeared starts up again as if it has finally been forced to breathe. I too release a breath I didn't know I had been holding. I swallow hard.

A cry from above breaks her hold on my eyes and she looks up casually, extending her arm to a black raven that flaps down to settle on her forearm. It caws lovingly as she strokes its chest. The woman returns her eyes to mine and takes an astounding step towards us, appearing to float on air. The power filled air around her vanishes as she smiles and is replaced by a bright light that shines from within her.

Down next to us, I feel the Hassassin take a step back, flinching. What's his deal? This lady looks too nice to cause us trouble. She's probably a servant for the gods, just like that assassin was who sent me on this wild goose chase.

Speaking of that strange guy, I fleetingly wonder whatever happened to him.

When she's not three steps towards us, I find myself quickly leaping down from the saddle and landing next to the Hassassin, staring at her kind smile. Sama is behind me in an instant.

"Wow, you can tell she isn't normal." The Ngbaka's jaw drops in amazement at the woman who approaches, placing her hands on my shoulders to get a peek around me. "I wonder who she is?"

The Hassassin and I both turn towards her slowly and I raise an eyes brow. She glances between us for a second in confusion.

"What?"

"You practically yelled that right in our ears." He hisses.

"Why don't you just ask her since she's probably already heard you now?" I add.

Sama glares at us both and then pushes between us. "Fine, I will." She falters in a single step. "Hey, who...are you…supposed…to…be…" He voice trails off and she slithers back behind me as the woman finally stops in front of me, leaving an arm's reach between us. I glance at Sama. I've never seen her so shy. I almost want to laugh.

"Ayani"

"Huh?" All of us pin our eyes on the woman and spill out in union like brainless monkeys.

The woman smiles brighter. "My name. It's Ayani."

Her voice sounds like birds chipping on the wind; light and musical. I blink in surprise. Her voice might as well be the wind itself; light and sweet with just a touch of a threatening gale around the edges. Sama swallows hard right behind my left shoulder and the Hassassin takes a step back to stand beside her.

Ayani smiles brighter, like a beautiful fairy here to present us with gifts. "There is no need to fear me. I have been sent to guide you to our city."

That's when I shake my head clear of the magical shift in our journey. "Say what?"

"Guide us where?" Sama echoes.

"A city?" Arsalan exclaims excitedly. "You mean we get a break from the sand? Finally!"

"Arsalan." Kas warns with a shake of his head. "Stop being rude."

Ayani chuckles and the wind dances at the sound. "Yes, I come from the city of Samira. There I studied in the arts of Runigraphy since I was five. When our High Priestess saw of your coming, she sent me to welcome you and make sure you made it to our city safely." She bows to me in a strange way, bringing her right hand around in a high arching circle around her face as she bends her knees nearly all the way to the ground and then returns to her full height. Her hand is drawn up into a fist at her stomach with only her forefinger and middle finger extended straight up towards her chin.

When she's once again back to eye level, her eyes are sparkling brighter than they had been before she bowed. I suddenly felt perfectly content in her presence. This is one grand way to greet someone and apparently their priestess knows of our journey. It would be great to get some help for once. Maybe they could give us a safer route to the sacred town that guards the gate to the gods, Alayra.

"Of course…you were already planning to come to our city…were you not?" She turns her question towards me and I give her a confused look. "You did tell that Canyon thief that you were a _princess_ of the city, didn't you?"

I scratch my cheek with my finger. Had I?

"Did you?" Sama asks.

"I guess I did. I can't really remember beyond…" My face falls as visions of Pilfer's death run across my mind.

Ayani's smile fades along with mine and she places a hand on her heart, her expression becoming tragic. "Yes, I know of your loss. I witnessed the defeat of your brave companion, but I assure you, her bravery will not go unknown."

I shift another look of bafflement to her again and a sad smile relights her features.

"I sang her life to the winds and her grave will be seen by all who pass. They will tell of her bravery in legends to come for many generations. My ravens and I made sure her resting place was one of beauty that will never dim due to time."

She holds out her hand to me, palm up, and somehow I know to touch the center of her palm. The second I do, a soft, gentle pull touches my mind and I close my eyes. Colorful lights blur across my closed eyelids and then clear away for me to see the vision they bring forth.

A grave, but like none I've ever seen.

Pale gray stones that shine like living marble circle a large oval across the ground and white flowers that I cannot name cover the entire circle of rocks in a purity that brings fresh tears to my eyes, stinging the edges and threatening to fall. The vision dies away and I open my eyes.

"Thank you." Is all I can manage.

"You have no need to thank me." She then addresses all of us. "You have all fought a long and hard journey. My High Priestess has offered you comfort and safety until you are ready to continue on, but only until you are ready. She has seen your hardships and welcomes you to stay as long as you see fit."

"For free?"

"Sama!" We all snap.

"What?"

Ayani only laughs again. "Of course. There is no need for money. It is our gift to you." She nods to me, pauses, and then takes in the whole group. "To all of you."

We glance amongst us, never once turning around to discuss it thoroughly. All I know is that the Hassassin never once takes his eyes off Ayani and she never once looks at him. She just waits patiently for our answer, hands folded neatly in front of her.

"Shoot, I say take her up on the offer." Arsalan puts in his vote and Firuz is quick to echo his agreement.

"We should be careful though. If it's an invitation from a respected priestess then the rooms could be expensive even though we're getting them free. We don't want to break anything." Kas suggests.

Sama rolls her eyes and slaps his leg. "Who's going to be stupid enough to break anything? I say we at least check it out. These people are nice enough to help us, so the least we can do is go and meet them."

"Sama's got a point. The least we can do is go." I nod. "It would be rude not to. And even if we decide not to stay…"

My voice trails off as I shift my gaze back to Ayani.

"You wouldn't take any offense would you?"

Ayani's smiles remains on her face for a long moment and then her eyes widen in surprise. "Oh no! Not at all. Our High Priestess would be happy just to meet you. If you decide to only remain for the hour then we will resupply you with anything you need and escort you to your next destination if possible."

"Well, that settles it then." Sama claps her hands once, surprising the horses. "We go to meet this priestess and thank her for her generous offer."

I turn back to Ayani and return her smile. "To Samira then."

Her answering smile is ten times brighter than any I've ever seen. "Wonderful."

Beside me, the Hassassin's presence shifts darker.

* * *

_So what do y'all think of Ayani? Any ideas as to her character? Who she may be?_

_Will she be a new addition to our group or just another lovable side character for me to kill off? Lol_

_You guys can take all the guesses you want. Whoever guesses right gets DOUBLE brownie points._

_Thanks to all my loyal readers and people who faved the story! You guys are AWESOME!_

_Once more, all town names and geography is made up out of my lazy imagination because I'm too hard-headed and…well, lazy to bother looking any of it up. Sooooo sorry, but please bear with me._

_Again, thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted, and commented! __**I welcome more advice.**_

_Please continue on with my story and review with all the help you can give! (__**I love me some reviews!**__)_


	20. Chapter 20: City of Samira

_Yes, I know this is late but I'm currently going through the biggest Writer's/Artist's block ever in the history of my life. I haven't written or drawn much of anything in nearly six months._

_So, I hope this chapter will be good enough for you guys._

_More of the city of Samira coming at you!_

_Please read, enjoy, and review! (I love me some reviews!)_

_-KB_

_(__**Disclaimer**__: I do __NOT__ own Prince of Persia or their characters. Only Daria, Sama, and any new characters that show up are mine. The Aeon bracelet belongs to me, Blue Rowan, and her sister. The storyline also belongs to me.)_

* * *

*Chapter 20*

The wind blows against our dumbfounded expressions.

"You guys see this too…right?"

"Uh-huh." They all answer me, jaws slack in surprise as we all stare at the sight folding out before us across the valley.

I can't really explain what it is I'm looking at exactly. The city is bigger than any I've ever been too; even bigger than Tamina's city.

"So it's not just an illusion then."

"Uh-huh." They answer me again.

Like old forgotten ruins, the city spans out across the wide valley for miles, stone arch ways and tall towers that spill water from the tops scatter through the streets. A tall, castle-like structure rises in the center as the other buildings around it rise up around it like stairs that lower as they reach to the edge of the city. A great stone wall that crumbles in a few places guards the outskirts, but from what I can see, there are no guards or archers along it anywhere.

"Woooooow." We all draw out again.

Next to us, with her hands folded neatly in front of her, Ayani smiles warmly at us as we stare. "Are you ready to head down?"

Turning to her, we all nod eagerly. All except the Hassassin. He still remains drawn into himself; stiff and silent as he holds the reins of two horses. The rest of the horses are already walking leisurely away down the grassy hill, lured towards the ruins below mostly like by the promise of fresh food that they haven't had for days. Ayani follows behind them as if she can read their minds.

"Once we have you settled in, you will be given a hot meal and a festival to welcome you."

"A festival?" Sama exclaims.

"You don't have to go through all that trouble…" I try to start, but Sama and Kas both drive death glares in my direction and I drop the sentence before I can finish it.

"Only **if** we stay." The Hassassin corrects all of us.

I blink. He's right. We haven't decided yet if we're going to or not. Sama and Kas have apparently made their decisions to stay.

"Of course." Ayani chuckles. "The decision is up to you entirely. But if you do decide to stay, we will host a welcome for you and make sure your time here is restful."

I smile at the thought of a warm bed and a good meal. Maybe staying one night wouldn't put us too far behind. If anything, the canyons caused us more lag than anything. I could've gone through them a lot faster on my own, but it's too late to change that now. Sama skips to a stop long enough to take the bag off my shoulders and grabs my wrist impatiently.

"Come on, come on!"

I chuckle lightly. She's like a kid locked in a pastry shop.

As we approach the bottom of the hill, voices rise abruptly inside the walls. The loose hanging doors that barely hang onto the surrounding wall open with loud creaks and moans. Two men push them open and stand against them as a few excited women and children rush out into the grassy field. They surround the group like a herd of horses, first going to welcome Ayani back home and then to turn their attention to us.

"Mistress, who are your friends?" One woman asks.

"You have never brought home such handsome men before." A younger woman smiles flirtingly and bats her thick eyelashes at Kas, Arsalan, and Firuz. The three men smile and nod at them in return.

Sama and I roll our eyes. Men have such big egos.

"Forget those skinny twigs, check out the beautiful flowers she has brought with her." Two men approach and grab our hands, kissing them with open smiles and flirting looks. Sama and I giggle at the same time. I haven't _giggled_ in years!

"Now, now, everyone!" Ayani laughs, waving her hands at them. "Leave them be so they can breathe. Do not bother them."

"Oh, no! They're no bother at all." Sama hurries to assure her and then allows the dark-skinned male to lead her away like a princess.

Ayani turns to me and bows. "I am very sorry about all this. My people are not used to having visitors. Not many people travel up this far anymore since they fear the canyons."

I shake my head. "No, no. It's completely fine. Just make sure they don't give Sama any alcohol because she can't hold it very well."

She smiles and nods. "I will see that it is done. Niron, would you take her bags and help her to the temple? I will make sure the women do not steal away with her other companions."

I glance back to see that all the women have crowded around the three boys cooing and pulling on the edges of their shirts while they giggle. Again, I roll my eyes. They don't do anything to back them off at all; they're enjoying themselves too much. Far behind them, three other women are walking around the Hassassin and asking him questions non-stop, but he doesn't respond to them. He just continues to pull the horses along behind them.

"May I take your bag, princess?" The tall man beside me offers with another breath taking smile.

"Oh, I'm not…" I start to correct him, but his smile is so nice and sweet that I decide against it. "Never mind."

He takes my bag and I allow him to take me by the arm and lead me through their city. Ayani leads the way through tall arches that tower over the streets, though a few are crumbling away with age, colorful awnings and beautiful handmade pots line the streets where houses stand, and fancy, colorfully dressed people of all shapes and sizes greet us with warm smiles and sometimes they pass us a small gift of an apple or flower.

By the time we get to the foot of the massive tower-like temple, I have nearly a dozen pink and white flowers threaded into the bun on the back of my head. I don't mind though, they smell amazing and give me such a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

A permanent smile has plastered to my face that I just don't even bother to get rid of. Niron shows me into the great hall that circles a giant fountain that seems as if it grew from the ground itself, carved into amazing stone shapes that spit out waterfalls in all directions.

"Whoa! This place is nice!" Sama somehow overcomes her intense conversation with the young man she's giggling with to stare wide eyed up at the ceiling. I follow her gaze up to the wooden rafters holding up the roof and my jaw drops. Spiraling sheer fabrics hang all over from the roof and create the illusion of a rainbow circling above you. The sight is beyond anything I've ever seen in my life. I wonder if any of my people had been here to see this before. I don't recall anyone ever talking about this place so I'm not sure.

"The shrine where our High Priestess prays is this way. Go on, shoo!" Ayani waves the girls and both the men out the door and they obey with defeated looks. "Now, please follow me."

She leads us through a tall wooden door, much newer than the ones that had guarded the entrance to the city, and we enter into a long hallway maybe ten feet across that is lined with candles on tall metal torch poles and the floor is polished marble of red and gold. I try to follow the strange patterns that dance in a single line along the floor towards the opposite door, but their swirling designs make me dizzy. Ayani brushes back a pink sheer curtain and motions for us to go through.

At first I'm hesitant to go into a room with no door, mostly because I couldn't knock in any way, but Sama skips in eagerly ahead of me and I have no choice but to follow. The doorway is only wide enough for one person to enter through at a time anyway so it wouldn't have mattered who went in first. We step into the room and an earthy smell whiffs under my nose. It smells floral too.

Ahead of us, more sheer curtains of many colors fall in our way, but I can just make out the silhouette of a person knelt away from us on the floor. Candles are lite on the other side of the person, so they appear as a shadow to us. The head is bowed before a tall stone with again, more strange symbols carved into it, but high on top of the stone is carved an intricate figure of something that appears to have wings of something extended from the body, but I can't be sure from this far away.

"High Priestess, I have brought the guests, as you requested." Ayani announces, bowing low on the floor when she steps into the room around us. She places her forehead on the floor and then sits up to touch her forefingers, middle fingers, and thumbs together for a brief moment, almost like a triangle, before rising to her feet.

Behind the colorful curtains, the figure moves from its statue-like state and stands up to full height. Behind me, I can feel the Hassassin's presence darken again.

* * *

I had stepped into the room right after Daria since Firuz was too afraid to go in first and the second I had, a sweet floral smell entered into my nose and it reminded me just how hungry I am.

The second the person far behind the curtains had moved though, all the thoughts of hunger and everything else practically flew out the window. I've seen lots of women in my life, but this one…

She moved like a smooth, flowing river over rocks. Her dark raven black hair falls down behind her to her knees like a free flowing cape. Her body is tanned to a smooth caramel color and her eyes are a dark, rich brown; deep and beautiful. I can't help but stare at her; shoot I'm a guy, I'm supposed to.

She wears the outfit of a dancer, her top wrapping around her chest, but still showing enough cleavage to hint at more. Her body is slender, showing off her smooth, flat stomach and perfect curves. Her skirt lies low on her hips and splits run all the way up the sides to the tops of her rounded thighs and what's left of the material is left to dangle in front of her and behind her and just brushes down to her ankles that are decorated with gold bangles with red stones. Her feet are bare, just as most of the rest of her body is, gold arm bands spiral around her sleek upper arms that remind me of snakes, and more gold and ruby bangles dangle around her wrists.

If her body didn't distract me enough, the strange tattoos that are lined up the center of her arms and down the sides of her legs and down the center of her belly really does a number on me. They make her look that much more exotic.

As she walks towards us, slow and purposefully, like a jungle cat looking for prey, the colorful curtains move to make way for her so that she can pass under them without them touching her. I can practically feel the warm power radiating from her, heating off her soft skin like a heat off a dancing blade at war.

I release a breath I didn't know I was holding and that's when the final curtain blows away and the full beauty of her face is revealed to me.

Her features are sharp with high cheek bones and round chin, to the slant of her dark eyes, and to the high forehead that bares more of the dark blue symbols that frame around her elf-like eyes. Those deep eyes slowly find mine, in no real hurry and I swallow hard.

Her features brighten even more as she smiles at me before turning those captivating eyes to Daria.

Again, I release a ragged breath and I hear Firuz and Arsalan do the same beside me.

"Whoa…"

I glare at Arsalan's impolite whisper, but then Ayani speaks to the woman again. "High Priestess, please let me introduce…"

"Daria, Sama, Arsalan, Firuz…and Kas." The woman's voice is even sexy; deep and smooth. She nods to me last, pausing as she says my name with a sincere smile. "Welcome to the Ahriman Temple. We welcome you with open arms and hope that your trip here was safe."

"Uh…yeah, Ayani was kind enough to lead us here. We had no problems at all." Daria answers, shaking her head as if something in her thoughts was distracting her. I glance over at her out of the corner of my eye and see a sad look cross her eyes briefly.

The woman nods slowly. "I am certainly glad to hear this. I had seen the death of your close companion and sent Ayani to intervene as soon as she could, but it seems my vision came too late. I am truly sorry for your loss."

Daria's eyes drop to the floor. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine."

"Surely you would like time to mourn her?" The woman asks worriedly, her eyes widening a little surprise. She touches Daria's shoulder gently.

Again, she shakes her head and refuses to look up from the floor. "No, Pilfer wouldn't want that. If she could talk, she would yell at me for sure if I did that. That's just how her personality is…was…"

Ayani raises a hand to her lips uneasily, but doesn't say anything. I can tell she's worried about Daria's response as well. The High Priestess drops her hand uncertainly, but nods. "Very well. If that is what you wish, but always know that this sanctuary is always open for you if you'd like quiet time to pray for her."

Daria carefully glances up through the dark strands of her bangs that have fallen into her face.

The woman smiles and motions with her eyes to the ceiling high above. "The Temple welcomes all its children and offers quiet and safety for all who seek it. Some say they are given the answers they prayed for, others claim that simply being here gave them serenity in their hearts and they were able to move on out of their hard times. I am certain that you will be granted what you need if you simply ask it of the Temple."

"I'm…not very religious." Daria admits with a nervous half-grin.

She smiles warmer as if she understands. "Then just ask. Ask the air, the trees, the sun, the grass, or even the earth. The Elements themselves are just as good listeners."

"Talk to…trees?" Sama asks, confused.

Ayani chuckles. "Yes, we also believe that, though dormant since the beginning of time, the Elements that make up the world are still alive, listening and singing. All you need to do is listen and you will hear them."

Behind the group, I pick up a low scoff from a certain Hassassin. How could he be in such a bad mood in this warm atmosphere? He's not natural.

The woman finally takes a step back and, swinging her arms wide out to her side as if she's inviting us to hug her, places one foot behind the other and bows a little from her waist. "Look at my manners, I welcome you to my home, travelers. I am High Priestess Leilah. I am the keeper of the Temple and Advisor of my people."

"You mean like…the leader?" Sama butts in again.

Ayani laughs again. "No, no, we do not believe in leaders. Past leaders have done nothing but suppress their citizens and force the men to go to war and leave their families. Our High Priestess has a much simpler role. She is a protector with her visions that tell us if danger is approaching us so that we can discuss peace with the encroacher, she also heals disease that befalls the people, and her prayers to our Temple keep our crops growing and fresh water flowing through the city. I admit that we are more matriarchal in our beliefs, but we do not force our men into slavery. We very much need the men here and treat them as equals for much more obvious reasons other than they are stronger and can swing a sword faster. Without their straight forward ways of thinking, we could never get anything done. They are able to carry out the tasks that we are unable to. Our women are able to come up with many ideas that help our city to remain in working order since we have a wider range of thinking. Our city is built on equality and harmony. If that harmony is disturbed, our High Priestess is there to help us put it back into balance you see."

"So our beliefs are based on the mind. If you believe you can do something then it will certainly come true, if you can picture something in your mind, then you are able to create it." Leilah continues. "Without the mind, one could really not do much." She directs her last statement at me and her eyes bore into mine once more. She smiles and I shift my weight nervously; something about her gaze really does something to a guy's heart.

* * *

Leilah finally turns back to the rest of us, releasing Kas's eyes, and yet the poor guy continues to gawk at her even after she turns away.

I have to stifle the urge to roll my eyes. Guys are such…guys! Leilah nods to Ayani and speaks again in her deep, mature voice that the guys seem so captivated by. She doesn't sound that much different…much.

"Come with me and I will show you the Temple. After, I will see that you are fed and welcomed."

She sweeps fluidly out of the small chamber and we follow her back down the hall that we had come down, Ayani close to her flank like a lost puppy. The Temple around us seems to light up in every room she leads us through, first back into the wide open round room with the rainbow ceiling then onto rooms further in, changing from long hallways with intricate designed walls and windows to even bigger rooms and showy designs. The last room we enter must be the center of the Temple because there's a big center structure where an obvious fire is built when needed. Already, more wood is being brought in to build the fire up once more, a torch placed into a holder near it to light it when the time came.

"Here is where we all come to celebrate our festivities, from birthdays to…" Leilah turns to smile at us, "Welcoming visitors and even weddings. Here tonight, my people will celebrate your arrival and welcome you. Next, I will show you to your rooms." She heads off to the side of the room, an inner circle of pillars hold up an upper floor above that overlooks the celebrating chamber high above, and takes a wide staircase up to the upper level. The twisting stair railing is wound up in silks of all colors while the stairs themselves are already sprinkled with pink and white flower petals for the upcoming festivities.

At the top of the stairway, women wearing strange bead decorations in their hair and with similar marks down their arms and legs, stop scattering flowers along the floor and look up at us as we approach.

"Good day, High Priestess." They all smile.

They then turn their attention to the guys as if they're the only ones in the room. I don't bother hiding my annoyance, propping my hands on my hips and glaring at the three boys as they smile like mindless monkeys.

Speaking of monkeys, a small white and black one suddenly appears on my shoulder. I gasp and chuckle. "Hey, there, little guy. How are you?"

The monkey just chirps a greeting before leaping off my shoulder to the floor and skipping off.

"You will have to excuse him. We have many monkeys in the city, but this one refuses to leave the Temple. He is always causing mischief for everyone, but nothing major. If you find that you are missing any apples or grapes, then you know who to find." Leilah grins after the monkey. I laugh as the monkey leaps up onto a small side table and quickly snatches a banana from the bowl that sits on top.

"Yeah, I see what you mean."

"He usually does not go near new people, but I guess he likes you. Maybe you can tame him and stop his reign of chaos."

"I'll see what I can do." I tell her.

She links my arm through hers and places her hand on mine. "That is the reason I believe we are going to get along just fine. I will give you a tour of your room first."

"My room?"

Leilah nods. "Yes, you each have your own rooms." She turns at my question and her expression becomes confused. "Does this displease you?"

"Well, no…it's just…We _each_ have our _own_ rooms?"

"Yes." Her confusion worsens.

"Wow." I sigh. "Thank you so much."

Her bewilderment is replaced with an amazing beam and she leads me on around the upper level. "You have nothing to thank us for. It is the least we can do for you after such a long and hard journey. You all deserve a restful break after all you've been through."

"You know we do." Sama laughs. I throw a glare at her rude remark and she sticks her tongue out at me like the five-year-old-wannabe she is.

Leilah stops at an open doorway where a curtain of colorful beads cascades over the entrance and she pulls half of them aside, motioning for me to head inside. "Your room, my dear."

Stepping carefully into the room, I let out an unsteady breath.

The floors are polished marble of oranges, reds, and browns, the far open window at the opposite end of the room leads out into a huge round balcony, the bed sits in the corner on the right side of the window, two water falls spill from the walls on either side of the bedstead and cascade into a moat that creates a half-moon shapes around her bed, and a small staircase of two steps allow access to the bed by bridging over the moat. A big round table sits in the center of the room with big, fluffy pillows set around it along the floor and a bowl of fruit is set in the middle awaiting hungry mouths. Flower petals are scattered around the floor here and there, giving it a floral smell and a tad bit more color.

'I've got to be in a dream.' She thinks.

* * *

_So here ya go! I hope y'all enjoyed. I'll try to work hard on the story and come up with another chapter for you guys. If anyone would like to help out, I'd love that a lot._

_Thanks to all my loyal readers and people who faved the story! You guys are AWESOME!_

_Once more, all town names and geography is made up out of my lazy imagination because I'm too hard-headed and…well, lazy to bother looking any of it up. Sooooo sorry, but please bear with me._

_Again, thank you to everyone who has faved, alerted, and commented! __**I welcome more advice.**_

_Please continue on with my story and review with all the help you can give! (__**I love me some reviews!**__)_


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